Old Man of the Mountain Returns!

The Old Man of the Mountains Series V – Race 1
A mile and one eighth on the Fast Dirt Course
Purse: $50,000, 1st: $30,000, 2nd: $12,500, 3rd: $4,000, 4th: $2,500, 5th: $1,000
All horses, 8 years old and up

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If you don’t know about this great series, it started four 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 PrivetDriv and the LilBitFarms Stables and their grand old horse, OLD TOWN who has had a nice long career and is ready for one last hurrah.

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Thanks for joining us at the Pastures of Green here in Vermont, for a wonderful and truly fun series. This week we are running an eight year old open to all horses but that could change during the series depending on what happens with our host during the races. With five wins since last March it probably won’t change but you just never know in this series, there can be twists. As it stands it appears that the distances could change a little during this series. This has been a very popular series with more than 35 entries for this first race. You don’t have to be in every race though and it will be expanded to 20 next race to accommodate more entries. It is always a fun series and a great opportunity for some of our elder statesmen.

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!:

1 – VEGAS HOTSHOT	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	6/1	Pincay	9 YRS	73	13	108	11 Back	$320,036

Can you still be called a Hotshot at nine years of horse age? Certainly not a “young” hotshot! This old guy has 70 plus races under his sans a belt and he sure knows how to win but it has been 11 races and nearly a year since he visited the winners circle. Maybe he forgot how to get there, that can be a problem with these elder statesmen. He is looking pretty good for an old guy but there are lots of challenges here in the race and he may have a tough time coming out on top. Hopefully that won’t tire him out too much.

2 – ONE TOUGH TURTLE(IRE)	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	12/1	Rharfo4	8 YRS	52	10	105	13 Back	$452,447

I don’t know about you but this old codger’s name sure doesn’t sound like a “speed” horse. Who put that moniker on him anyway. They say that slow and steady wins the race and this guy ought to qualify for that saying. Of course they didn’t say old and decrepit wins the race! His last triple digit SPF was back in 2008 and he’s still trying to get over it. When he does, look out for this turtle!

3 – OUR TOWN	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	9/2	PrivetDriv	8 YRS	60	17	111	2 Back	$265,959

Our hosts last five races on a dry track have been with triple digit speed figures and that’s hardly fair against this group of Senior Citizens. He has five wins and a second in those races and that’s hardly fair against this group. Do I detect a trend here? I think a couple of these old guys need to get together and take turns bumping this guy around to get him off of his game. Of course they will have to catch him first! LilBitFarms may have a real ringer in this series.

4 – ANKENY STREET	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	23/1	WTAS03	8 YRS	47	7	108	4 Back	$123,044

With only seven wins in his eight years this old guy has moved all the way up in the rankings to number 3035 with a win four back. With another win here he could easily move into the top 3000! Wouldn’t that be a feather in your cap? I know he is trying to pace those wins out but he still needs to get one this year to even things out…one win for each year of age. I don’t see it happening here but it’s a long year and a long series.

5 – STORMZAPPER	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	34/1	RosesInMay	9 YRS	45	7	114	20 Back	$449,082

Here is one of those high priced Storm Cat offspring that didn’t quite fare as well as you had hoped. Granted he won four of his first five with a G2 in there but after that he’s only won three of the next forty and the last one was twenty races ago! This guy is probably a better bet for the Sundial end of the series and that can be prestigious in it’s own right. Its been 14 races since he hit the board and that was on grass. It looks like this “Zapper” may have been zapped.

6 – OUR REASONS AGAIN	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	8/1	RharfBeam8	9 YRS	70	22	107	5 Back	$786,556

This classy old gal has returned to try and heap more humiliation on the elderly gentlemen in this race. She won two of the races in last years OMOTM series much to the chagrin of the other runners. It’s bad enough to be beat at this age but doubly embarrassing to lose to a woman! She is still looking great at age nine and they had better hope that there are no off tracks during this season because she is nearly unbeatable then. Nice to have the old gal back!

7 – SHOW BIZ KID	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	16/1	Noles02	8 YRS	57	9	108	7 Back	$ 253,604

There ain’t much “Kid” left in this guy and if he hears someone else singing the “Old Gray Horse just ain’t what he used to be” one more time he might scream! But as they say, “That’s Show Biz”. Wow, that is probably enough of that banter. Since moving to the dirt and winning a couple in a row last summer it’s been a pretty dry run for this old vaudevillian. I’m sure he would like to win here and stop all of the singing and whispers. Break a leg Kid!

8 – THE CANADIAN DREAM	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	7/1	SimRoscoe1	8 YRS	25	6	111	Last Out	$ 73,626

With only 25 races to his credit, this old dream shouldn’t have to worry about much wear and tear on his body. He’s only averaging a little over three races a year. This 10 race series may put him in shock if he runs all of them! His last race was one of his best so maybe he’s just maturing at a later age than his competitors. I’ve certainly been told on occasion that the male of the species NEVER really grows up! This guy could be a real player in this series the way he’s saved himself up for it.

9 – ALBERTA SAMURAI	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	5/2	Bertaal	8 YRS	38	8	109	5 Back	$ 260,539

Wait a minute…we need to check the birth certificate on this one. He’s still winning Stakes races. Are you sure he didn’t come from one of the islands that don’t keep good records about that sort of stuff? Regardless, he is in the race and should be blowing by most of the old guys in this race. He just needs to make sure that he doesn’t run over anyone or trip on someone’s walker!

10 – CONTROVERSY AGAIN	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	20/1	Whirlwind	9 YRS	50	7	114	14 Back	$343,968

This guy’s name worries me a bit. This series hasn’t been without controversy in the past. There have been charges of illegal tampering with Geritol, Viagra and numerous other tonics and such. One time there was even a horse that supposedly guzzled someone elses beer! It’s been over a year since this guy won anything so he may forget about any controversies in that race. May be a better candidate for the Sundial award. He’s ranked number 7537…who knew they went that high!

11 – SEQUOIA COMET	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	AVG SPEED	EARNINGS
	13/1	Ptribbett3	8 YRS	48	5	102	3 Back	$158,137

There actually looks to be a little life in the old Comet. His past few races he’s looked pretty spry and may be able to remember how he did it a long time ago in some of those Stakes races and show these other old timers how it’s done. Of course those Stakes races were against dinosaurs it was so long ago. Or at least that’s the way he tells it to the ladies back at the Stable!

12 – ART HOME	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	99/1	JustLucky	9 YRS	62	8	113	22 Back	$ 779,094

Well, he shouldn’t be to tired as he only ran one race in all of 2009 and only two in the past year and a half. And those SPFs were only in the 60’s so he didn’t put forth a heck of a lot of effort! This has got to be the favorite for the Sundial Award. It looks like the jockey may have to carry a cell phone so they can call him when everyone else finishes so he doesn’t tire the old guy out. It could be you are looking at the caboose of this aged train.

13 – BUBBA’S TALE	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	AVG SPEED	EARNINGS
	26/1	Kryn	8 YRS	61	7	106	9 Back	$144,502

A little tough to figure this one as it’s been almost five years since he ran further than seven furlongs. He had better carry plenty of oxygen with him because it’s going to be a while longer after he passes his normal finish line. I hope the shock isn’t too much for his heart! Hopefully he runs the first seven furlongs pretty fast so he can coast the end of the race!

14 – BREMEN’S CURSE	ODDS	OWNER	AGE	RACES	WINS	TOP SPEED	LAST WIN	EARNINGS
	14/1	Peeps4	8 YRS	57	8	105	6 Back	$301,189

Along with everything else this old Storm Cat offspring has to worry about, he’s parked so far outside he’ll be tired just moving in close to the rail! Trainer Peeps4 needs to train him to run sideways at the start to get in closer right away. The old guy may be doing some cursing of his own by the time he gets to that first turn. The way he’s been running lately both he and the trainer may be cursing!

Morning Line = 9-3-1-8-6
Paz Picks = 9-1-3-8

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It is always tough to pick the first race in the series. In this series it is almost as important to pick the last place as the first. I am choosing ART HOME to finish at the back of the pack but he could be challenged by STORMZAPPER to finish about a state and a half behind the field. I always like to mention our host, and OLD TOWN could definitely be a player here but there looks to be a lot of competition. He could sneak into second but I have him third. I’m going to take THE CANADIAN DREAM to quietly finish in fourth but he could be in the thick of things down the road. I’m going to pick VEGAS HOTSHOT to pick up second even though he ran two weeks ago. I am going with the morning line favorite, ALBERTA SAMURAI to win the first race in the series and take the early lead in the OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN standings.

Good luck to all runners!

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