Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

ladyssecret — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:45:53 GMT

All the old guys are so fun to watch. One of my personal favorites was Perfect Drift. I hope Mine That Bird is with us for years to come. We should have a race for 7year olds and up.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Ann in Lexington — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:12:17 GMT

I've been a fan of Brass Hat since he broke his maiden in the Rushaway on the Jim Beam (or whatever) undercard. I thought he was one of the best 3yos of his crop, and felt justified in that after he started his run at 4/5 that culminated in his Donn H win. (He came from behind on a wet track on which all the other races were won by horses near the front.) At that point, I thought he was going to be one of the ones, the next John Henry or Forego or Native Diver. Alas, the trip to Dubai, then the injury that summer. While I'm pleased that he has won another stakes race, I can't help but remember what he might have been and sigh.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

LDP — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:18:51 GMT

Mike,

Never seen Cigar live, wish i could. Maybe I will plan a visit to him along with Curlin if i ever get to travel.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

sweet terchi — Fri, 29 May 2009 15:52:14 GMT

Greg J., Hermosilla, of course! I am so glad that all his well with him, and a big thanks to you for the follow up.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Greg J. — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:50:30 GMT

Sweet Terchi,

I believe the horse you are thinking of is, "Hermosilla"(Afleet/Alas De Oro), He ran until he was fifteen!, The horse launched his career in 1994, when he won a maiden race at Hollywood Park under Chris McCarron. Amazing, His record was, 68 Starts, 14 Wins, 8 Seconds, 6 Thirds, Earnings $116,507!!! I believe that his last race was at Wyoming Downs, at the age of 15 in 2007(Finished Second!). At the age of fourteen, He raced twice in six days!, and won both...

I read this about him, Which, I thought was quite funny. His owner is only 29 years old, Shaun Story, This is his quote how he trains him, lol, "He's got about a half-acre pasture, and I just turn him out in it and he wanders and eats grass all the time, Most people don't train them like that, but he likes it and so that's what I do." He will then retire to Story's farm, where he has befriended the trainer's 1-year-old son, Parker. "He'll probably be a good mountain horse," said Story. "I'll probably go hunting on him and stuff."

Last update, last year from his owner, "Just to let all you Hermosilla followers out there know. He has retired and is living a wonderful retirement life at our home. He is happy and healthy life. Him and our 2 year old are best friends. Our 2 year old rides him everyday. Thanks for caring.

What a great story! Sweet Terchi, thanks for mentioning it and giving me a chance to read about it, Cool Story...

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Mike Relva — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:28:05 GMT

TO:BARB

Cigar is my all time fav. I live over fours hrs. from Kentucky,but I visit him a few times each year. He still looks great far younger than his actual age of nineteen.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Mike Relva — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:23:32 GMT

DRAYNAY

Look,I like both horses very much. I'm only saying that like it or not Zenyatta's connections are going to do what they want regardless of what everyone thinks.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Mike Relva — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:21:53 GMT

MATTHEW W

You're correct! Zenyatta has blown by her rivals over and over.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

sweet terchi — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:43:27 GMT

GunBow thanks for the info on regulations.

There was a horse who raced till he was 15yrs or so, then he went to a retirement farm in Kentucky, but I can't remember his name. Now that is one heck of a feat. LDP, you are so right in horses sensing their environment. They know. I used to be at a TB farm in Cali, (it no longer exists due to development), and no matter how well you schooled the youngsters in gate training, on a actual bona fide track it was a whole different story. I remember one colt who refused to leave the gate because of the crowd noise.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Greg J. — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:16:52 GMT

Dray,

I love how now you are giving "Mine that Bird" respect, When all you have said about him that he is a "Fluke", Got lucky, Will never win again, Yada, Yada, Yada.....In your last comment to Mike Relva regarding Zenyatta/Rachel A., You said, "let me know when Zenyatta beats a colt or a Derby winner", Love how you are giving RA kudos for beating a "Fluke", It just never ends, lol...

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

gw_bushwacker — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:59:20 GMT

draynay,

Are you finally to the point that your mind can grasp the fact Mine That Bird is not a "fluke"? Or is it just that you can now use his name to argue with someone else? For weeks you bashed him and his Derby win and now you use him to measure Zenyatta and RA. Since he's the only Ky Derby winner out there it is a very convienient arguement to say RA has beaten a Derby winner and Zenyatta has not. Since MTB is racing in 3 yr old company only Zenyatta has no chance of facing him even if they wanted to for now. What a pathetic way to argue. The only chance they have to meet is the Br. Cup Classic and we all know that's a long shot. I think we all hope thet Zenyatta and RA face off sometime this year. I'd rather sit back and enjoy 2 extremely talented horses going against each other than be in your position of bashing one all year and praying the other wins in a face-off so I could say I told you so. In your case it's more like a little kid bragging his dad can beat up another.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

LDP — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:58:26 GMT

barb,

Thanks, I normally do enjoy all the back and forth, as long as it doesn't get too out of hand. I normally try to keep in mind that i need to choose my words carefully too, though it doesn't work all the time. Other times i get to mad to think and then i just type. I especially enjoyed all the live blogs, it's fun and a lot faster, kinda like a chat room for horse racing fans.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Householder — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:35:58 GMT

Black Ruby was cool! She could scoot a good 4 furlong. Let's hear it for Cal-Bred mules, great geldings of the past, and the best California based horse in training Zenyatta. After nearly a 7 month lay off she toyed with the competition and had her ears pricked as the jockey sat motionless. And the whole "faking" to the inside on the backstretch to get Gomez to drop in only to pull her up and to the outside so she did not go "too wide" on the turn was awsome. Smith 1...Gomez 0. Regardless of how one feels about Zenyatta she is simply fun to watch and is a great example of the ugly ducking with bad skin that no one wanted to buy taking it to the racing world.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Matthew W — Thu, 28 May 2009 02:14:50 GMT

Dray--Black Ruby and Zenyatta??? AND Peppers Pride?? Yes, for once you're right---about five more in a row and we'll add Rachel!! NO animal feels good ALL the time---horses that win over and over don't always FEEL 100%--they just always GIVE 100%--That IS greatness--at ANY level....you see? You simply cannot dis zenyatta---Cuz "Zenyatta's Zenyatta"!!

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Matthew W — Thu, 28 May 2009 02:08:05 GMT

Draynay SO WHAT if they don't win HOY---The Cup's at Santa Anita my friend, EVERYONE'S invited---Nice "out" you added in case Zen goes by Rachel like she's standing still (that's if Jess can show up!)..."She'll never beat a Derby Winner"....Nice! Hey guy, even AFTER she smokes them again in BCup...take it (the HOY)....Hats off to a trainer and a horse that blows by them all time after time! Criticize them if you must, they've done "something right" with this horse...it makes NO SENSE to travel when it's at your digs---I'd love to see her in the Eddie Read at 1 1/8 turf v males....face it, though, you would have an excuse no matter what the scenario, that's why you say the innane comment "she will never beat a Derby winner (like Rachel)"...that comment is for when (and if) they ever meet, and "you" come up on the losing end...I get it!

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Virgil Fox — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:43:47 GMT

You know you ain’t never, ever gonna forget that day at Belmont.

Fabulous Strike,

English Channel,

Curlin

The best.

- P

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

LDP — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:38:15 GMT

StardustyRose,

Horses do in a scence know where they are, they can sence changes in the enviornment, just like we can, but better. My thoroughbred picks up on anything, and i mean that literally, he notices it all, if one stupid partical is out of place he knows. He knows if he's at a home show or away, because he's more comfortable at a home show. This is my point with Zen, she may preffer on environment and it's sounds and surrounding to another, so we can't just assume she'll like every track, so far she's run at Hollywood Park, SA, and Oaklawn. She performs great in CA, we can see that, especially on Cushion track which plays to dirt more. I think Oaklawn normally has a dryer type of climate like CA, so what would she do if brought to a place that was wet humid and buggy? We don't know, because she's never dealt with that before. By the way i know you weren't trying to start anything this morning, i was just in a bad mood, stress and studying for finals will do that to you.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Virgil Fox — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:29:10 GMT

Jason,

I got the impression you were referring to current runners, but I could have misunderstood.

Either way, you know where I’m going with this one.

Pennsylvania’s own - Fabulous Strike.

Although, I’m not sure about these recent 7Fs, while having to carry around an extra bowling ball.

(And Prado is still on my S list for that ride in the Gen George)

Real Dirt, 6Fs – he is a monster.

Props to Commentator and Indian Blessing in the Guts and Speed Department.

- Paul

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

GunBow — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:34:55 GMT

Householder + Matthew W:

Best Pal was the first horse I followed from the very beginning of his career to the end. After he died of a heart attack at age 10, I was one of thousands of fans who wrote a letter to commemerate his life and career. Surprisingly, I received a card about a month later with a hand-written message from Betty Mabee thanking me for my letter. Obviously, I cherish it greatly.

Because Best Pal did lose a bunch of races at ages 5, 6, and 7, some people forget just how good he was at 2,3 and 4. Best Pal swept Cali's 2 year old series, taking the Del Mar Futurity, Norfolk, and Hollywood Futurity. At 3, he ran 2nd in the Kentucky Derby, and later in the year won the inaugural Pacific Classic over Twilight Agenda, Unbridled, Farma Way, Festin and others with a 118 Beyer. However, he was at his best in the first 5 months of his 4 year old season, winning the San Fernando w/ a 121 Beyer, the Strub w/ a 119 Beyer, the Santa Anita Handicap w/ a 123 Beyer, and the Oaklawn Park Handicap w/ a 121 Beyer. Unfortunately, he was injured following a dull 4th in the Pimlico Special, but I still think he deserved the Eclipse award for older horses over Pleasant Tap. Best Pal's top performance returning from the injury was his win, at age 5, in the Hollywood Gold Cup w/ a 117 Beyer. Overall, Best Pal not only won the three top Cali races for 2 year olds, he also won the top 3 races for older horses(Big Cap, Hollywood Gold Cup, Pacific Classic) for a total of 7 grade 1s(if one includes the then ungraded Pacific Classic).

Thinking about the primarilly West Coast horses that were left off Bloodhorse's Top 100 is really frustrating. No Cougar, no Winning Colors, no Ancient Title, no Best Pal, Exceller only 96, and Bayakoa only 95! Exceller only won 11 grade 1 races, on turf and dirt, in Europe and North America. As for Bayakoa, she just won 12 grade 1 races, completely dominating fillies like Open Mind(7-time grade 1 winner), Goodbye Halo(7-time grade 1 winner), and Gorgeous(4-time grade 1 winner).

I think it is really interesting that in the book, Champions, the past performances of a handful of horses that did not win a championship(Eclipse or its equivalent) are included. The non-champions included are Eight Thirty, from a crop with Challedon and Johnstown, Lure, who lost the turf Eclipse to Kotashaan and Paradise Creek, as well as Ancient Title, Exceller, and Best Pal. These last 3 horses, each based in California for its North American campaign, were disrespected by the Bloodhorse Top 100 voters(Best Pal + Ancient Title excluded, Exceller only 96) and/or Eclipse voters(Ancient Title never won an Eclipse because he was from the same crop as Secretariat and Forego, but Best Pal and Exceller should have won an Eclipse). Add them with Cougar, left off the Top 100 and only won 1 Eclipse Award, and a bias seems very real.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Draynay — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:03:34 GMT

Mike Relva have you been drinking ?

HOY honors goes to the best horse this year and this year RA is undefeated. Last year has nothing to do with this year. Would you like to compare records THIS YEAR with the paper champion and RA ? Good luck with that ! let me know when Zenyatta beats a colt or a Derby winner or wins a Triple Crown or wins in a State this year other then California.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

GunBow — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:01:11 GMT

Comparing Zenyatta to Peppers Pride and Black Ruby is hilarious. I use the word hilarious to reflect that I think the comparison is ridiculous, but also very funny.

For those unaware, Black Ruby was a female mule that ran mostly in the Central California fair circuit for about 7 years during, I believe, the late 90s and early 2000s. Her popularity grew to such levels that Del Mar carded a match race involving Black Ruby prior to the first thoroughbred race. Although the match race went off hours before the first thoroughbred race, over 10,000 people were there to see Black Ruby win her match race.

Dray, you have to remember that Black Ruby, unlike Zenyatta and Peppers Pride, faced the males repeatedly. She was the top mule, male or female.

sweet terchi:

I respect what Peppers Pride accomplished and think her winning streak was fantastic. However, every race she ran in was restricted to New Mexico breds. So, not just any horse could travel to New Mexico to challenge her, even had their connections wanted to. And the fact is the connections of other top female racehorses would have had little incentive to race against Peppers Pride in New Mexico, even if allowed to run, because the races Peppers Pride competed in were ungraded stakes with purses between $50-200,000. So, there would have been little prestige, and only modest purses. All this is moot anyways, because like I mentioned earlier non-New Mexico breds were not eligible for those races. This is completely different from races like the Milady and Vanity which are grade 2 and grade 1 races and are open to horses bred in any state, and in any country. The only restrictions on these two races is that they are limited to female horses.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

TerriV — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:58:10 GMT

Freetex, thanks for mentioning Cigar. I meant to list him too - he is another of my favorites. He's a joy to go visit at the horse park too. I'll also take this chance to mention Holy Bull. I just love this horse and always watch for his offspring.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

barb — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:41:17 GMT

Jo...I was thinking the same thing about Cigar. The horses I mentioned before raced til 9 or 10 but I guess 6 counts as being an old timer these days. And of course I loved Cigar! I also would give much respect to Lava Man.

Gunbow...I can't believe I forgot Sandpit. He was one of my very favorites to watch. I cried the day I heard he died.

LDP...No sweat, I ain't mad at ya. If you take everything I said into account you'll see that I want Z to race boys and to travel. I also want RA to run in the BC as long as she's still racing by then. But what I want doesn't really matter so I will be happy with what I get...ok maybe not happy, but I'll take it. I look forward to watching both of them for the rest of their careers and will reserve judgement on who is better until they are retired (though my money is on Zenyatta). P.S. I find this back and forth fun and TRY to choose my words carefully to convey my meaning without disrespecting anybody, of course I'm not always successful. I hope that you enjoy this also and that you have a great day.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Mike Relva — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:26:18 GMT

TO:DRAYNAY

You've got your opinion,that's cool! I know you're a betting man and like I told you her connections could care less,trust me they don't spend probably a second out of a week caring if a fan,blogger,etc agrees with their methods. I don't blame them! But,last yr. you must have been in a coma when Zenyatta blew past Ginger Punch like she was standing still. That was out of her "comfort zone" ,as you know it wasn't in Calif. She hasn't a damn thing to prove to you,me or anyone else! If she isn't HOY so what! Like yourself,I'm a big fan of RA,but remember RA ISN'T UNDEFEATED.

re: Old Man Brass Hat Keeps on Truckin'

Mike Relva — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:20:20 GMT

TO:STARDUSTY ROSE

Hey there! I'm a big Zenyatta fan and you are CORRECT,Zenyatta has and can beat anyone on the planet!