Black Type Bugler

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Black Type Bugler

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Old Man Series – New Hampshire Version!

pazjazz

The Old Man of the Mountains Series IV – Race 2 Part 1
A mile on the Firm Turf Course
$50,000
All horses, 8 years old and up, Non-Winners of TWO within the last year

Okay, my week started with my assignments back at the BTB office, I was going to do a Graded race and pop on over to New Hampshire to watch the last race on the card, the OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN race, the second race in the fourth OMOTM Series. It was in New Hampshire for the first time because the VERMONT IS FOR LOVERS series was taking all of the slots in that card where it is usually run. LilBitFarms had informed me a while ago that there were going to be twenty horses in the race for the first time because of the big turnout last time but I figured I could probably handle that.

Then my editor mentioned that there had been some sort of computer error, (imagine that!!) and the Old Man race was actually carded in both Vermont AND New Hampshire!! Oh that shouldn’t be a problem I told her, “I WILL JUST CLONE MYSELF!!”

After she got me settled down a bit, we discussed this problem in a non-confrontational manner. (That’s what my counselor calls it anyway!) Of course we discussed it for hours and hours and finally called in some technological wonders that allowed me to watch one race in person while the other was jetting across my computer screen. In the end, the first race was just about over with only a couple of stragglers to finish before the second started so it wasn’t quite as bad as I thought. Anyway, I was able to do coverage of both races although I couldn’t possible do all 40 horses and I had to completely forget about the Graded race. I hope you enjoy the coverage and the series as much as I do!

If you don’t know about this great series, it started three years ago with Sunnybank hating to see the end of MEAT LOAF LOOP’s career come about too quickly so he set up a ten race series where “MEATY” would host the races with his conditions and any fellow old codgers could join in the fun and gather points during the series for scoring first through third in the races. The twist to this series is that if you win, you have to wait for the Host to win too or you won’t qualify for subsequent races until he does. It always proves to be great fun with grand old horses and usually the final race deciding the winner of the series. This year our host will be trainer Kelsobarn and the LilBitFarms Stables and their grand old horse, THREE WISE MEN who has had a nice long career and is ready for one last hurrah.

Thanks for joining us at the Pastures of Green here in Vermont ( Well actually in New Hampshire but it really ain’t that far away!! ) , for a wonderful and truly fun series. This week we are running an eight year old NW of Two in the last year but that could change for the next race with either a win by our host. We have enough experience gathered in this race to probably eclipse the rest of the card at New Hampshire this weekend. It is always a fun series and a great opportunity for some of our elder statesmen. Amazingly, our host is the only returning horse with points in both categories so this series is wide open!

    The Leader Standings in the series:

  • P J LORD NELSON (Plunk5) 6 Points
  • DIABOLICAL PRINCE (Ruffino) 3 Points
  • THREE WISE MEN (Kelsobarn) 1 Point

    Sun Dial Standings in the series:

  • THE ARMS OF ORION (CMD2001) 6 Points
  • SON OF RABBIT (WnrsCircle) 3 Points
  • SKY WAHBIT II (Nineteen) 1 Point

No disrespect meant to these truly respected veterans but I’ve tried to write this preview with a bent toward having some fun with this series. I hope that you enjoy it and accept it with that in mind. We’ve got a nicely matched field of old codgers so let’s take a look before one of them expires!:

Usually I run down the entire field but with 40 horses entered across two States I am going to give you my idea of the Winners and the SunDial Winners for the race. Lets start with the top of the pack in order of finish:

20 – INCYANE GENIUS ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
7/1Flippymom8 YRS 68 18 118 2 Back $418,649
Eighteen wins and still going strong for this elder genious! He is actually getting kind of hot with his wile and guile to make sure he always seems to finish in the money. He must be whispering something in that gate to the others because he isn’t just running against the geriatric set. Trainer Flippymom has owned this chestnut gent from the start and seen 18 wins and 19 seconds. I think he will be able to whip his walker around the track again and wheel it home.

4 – THREE WISE MEN ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
6/1Kelsobarn8 YRS 44 13 107 2 Back$257,609
Our host is hot as well! He has won two of his last five races and finished third in the first leg of this series! This is a bit more than he is usually used to running but trainer Kelsobarn has learned from the best in Lilbitfarms in how to mix the Geritol and Viagra just right to get these old geezers around the track pretty quick. His name sounds more like a camel jockey but I think he will be fast enough to take the lead and get nipped at the wire.

19 – TEQUILA SLAMMER II ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
9/1Rharfonz9 YRS 81 13 112 21 Back$371,514
This grand old guy is winding it down after a long and productive career. He has double digit Wins, Places and Shows and even won a Stakes race way back in Oh-three not long after he was claimed that he still talks about back at the barn. It’s been 21 races since he’s seen the circle but he’s been trotting in a little faster company than he will face here. His dance floor moves here may be enough to steal a win and ought to put him on the board. After all, trainer Rharfonz has seen that more than 40 times already!

11 – SANDY SPRING ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
9/2DB9 YRS 37 7 109 3 Back$78,932
We will see if this nine year old favorite has the “Spring” needed to get out of the blocks quick enough and hold on in a sprint. He is much more used to a mile or more and sometimes these old guys can forget how far they are running and actually have a hard time putting it in gear in time. He has the legs to win this race but I’m just not sure he can get them going in time. Trainer DB will have to wind him up and get him going. Hey, maybe he can take a running start for a couple of furlongs…that might work!

15 – BLACK CIELO ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
8/1Gene8 YRS 45 13 120 6 Back$328,886
Here is another guy that might have trouble figuring out how far to run. The last time he ran a race this short was almost four years ago. When you get this old, you have a hard time just remembering where you set down your blinkers let alone trying to reason with when to get the old legs to kick it in. Trainer Gene might have to tell him that he’s already run for a while at the start to get him going. If that works, it might be like those guys that want to be the first in line for chow back at the old horses home and he could get to the head of the line in a hurry! 3 – ATAKACHAW ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED AVG SPEEDEARNINGS 8/1Cadiz9 YRS 61 17 121 5 Back$1,809,800Now here’s a an old guy that I thought might do pretty well in the first race of the series but he faded like guy that forgot his Viagra at the end of the last race and will probably end up about the same place here. Trainer Cadiz has seen great things from this decorated old star including Breeders Bowls and many wins sprinkled with Stakes and Graded trophies but most of those are just memories. You just never know when an old champion will get that spark and throw in that champion heart though and it could certainly happen here.

Now we move on to the bottom of the pack, which in this series is almost as important as finishing in the front. There is a separate contest for the trailers and by the end of the series we have some horses that are really dragging. I’ve seen where the jockeys have to call on their cell phones to see how much farther it is the finish!! . Lets start with the back of the pack in reverse order of finish, so the the first shall be the last:

16 – SANDY RACK ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
99/1LostKey210 YRS 18 2 84 2 Back$ 19,003
Here is an experienced lady, at least in years that inexplicably has only run 18 times. That averages out to only a couple of races a year so I won’t be surprised if she takes a break in the back stretch to rest up for the trip home. She may have to touch up the makeup too as a girl has to look good when they start taking those SunDial photos. Trainer LostKey2 wants to put a GPS on her in this series just in case she finishes so far back that they can’t find her but the track stewards would’nt go for it. If she ain’t the caboose here, she should definitely see it!

8 – WHO CAN I TURN TO ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
99/1Pecos19711 YRS 15 1 81 14 Back$ 32,214
Well, if I complained about how lightly raced the last mare was, get a load of this. Here is a girl that won her second race ever back in the Spring of 2001 and is still looking for that SECOND win! She doesn’t like to push herself, that is only 14 races over those eight years but that is quite a dry spell. It sure doesn’t look like she is going to break the streak in this series either as trainer Pecos197 has tried most everything but she doesn’t like to be pushed at all. She might be pushing up daisies before she gets that next win!

7 – VERBID’S GAL ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
99/1Superfly10 YRS 71 19 99 15 Back$ 125,272

Here is a ten year old that is looking for that elusive 20th win. It has been 15 tries and doesn’t look promising but he can at least go back to the barn and tell the young fillies about the times he uses to beat the chariot horses back in the good old days! Trainer Superfly needs something super for this old guy to get around the track and hopefully he can move the walker fast enough to keep from qualifying for the SunDial win.

10 – DOLEMITE ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED LAST WINEARNINGS
56/1HoosierSTC8 YRS 35 2 101 32 Back $82,153
Let’s see now, this old guy had quite a win streak going of two in a row….oh my, that was back in the Autumn of 2004 and he has now gone 32 races in a row without going back to the winner’s circle. He must have really not liked it there with all of those cameras flashing and putting those stupid flowers on his back. Anyway, HoosierSTC knows that he must still have plenty left in those old bones because he sure hasn’t shown it on the track. It looks to me that he won’t have to worry too much about bright lights in this one unless they have to light up the track to see when the last horses hit the finish a long time after the winners!

2 – CHATEAU FLEET SON ODDS OWNER AGE RACES WINS TOP SPEED AVG SPEEDEARNINGS
45/1Deeprock119 YRS 79 14 112 8 Back$123,563
”FLEET” may have been a good name once for this double digit winner but now it is more like “SLEEP”. He has finished a total of 34 ½ lengths back in his last two and it is a good thing that they were sprints or he might still be running! Trainer Deeprock11 claimed him a couple back and had been able to take a couple of nice naps during those races. It sure looks like the old horse was stopping to nap himself as far back as he was running. He may be way back here as well, but I think he will keep off of the “bottom board”.

Morning Line = 11-20-4-8-15
Paz Picks = 20-4-19-11-15

It will certainly be interesting to see how this all works out with races at two tracks. Hopefully it will go back to just one next time as I can only split myself so far!! I might age myself a little with all of the running around I did this week. Anyway, it is always fun with these wheezers and geezers so I hope you enjoy it. Just bring a SunDial along with your stopwatch!

Good luck to all runners!

Email your comments to pazjazz.btb@gmail.comI love to hear from you!

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