I haven’t checked in for awhile here at the blog, but things have been going quite well for Mr. Mo and his quest to become the greatest racehorse stabled at Pocono Downs, trained by John Butenschoen and owned by two guys who live in Wisconsin (a relatively small pool of horses). First before I get into racing, note the title of this entry. A couple of friends and I took in the Areosmith show at Alpine Valley a couple of weeks ago and I have to say, those dudes can still bring it. Great show that I’d highly recommend. Anyway, since his big 2nd place finish in the first leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Series, he has come back for two tightners and finished a strong 2nd on June 16th and was back in last night.
Last night was a fun one. Our group of three (plus race fan Jeremy Schlitz), headed down to our South Beloit off track betting parlor hangout to watch the race. I had missed the race the week before due to contractual obligations as the first basemen of the Urban Achievers, our men’s slow pitch softball team. It hasn’t been the best year for the Achievers, so I was glad when the race fell on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday so I could partake in both. It was steak night on Wednesday, but Schlitz said afterward we made a good decision getting a hamburger. Anyway, we were enjoying a night of losing virtually all of our bets until Mo’s race. We were all pretty nervous because we knew he had a legit chance to win (although he was the 2nd betting favorite). Even with a good horse wins are very hard to come by and this field had enough talent in it to knock us off.
The race started very well for us as driver Joe Pavia got Mo right off the gate and to the front with relative ease. Coming around the first turn into the first of three straight-aways on a 5/8s mile track, a long shot was coming up on our outside as he didn’t find a place to drop on the rail. This was concerning. He was going to try and make it all the way to the front so he wasn’t hung out the entire mile. We didn’t want to let him go since we didn’t want to be stuck behind a long shot. The result was that we had to work a bit harder than we hoped on the front end to continuously fend him off. Around the 2nd turn we slowly pulled a length in front, which also helped as the favorite, Precious Medal, was behind the long shot. Just after the half mile mark, Precious Medal got anxious and went around the long shot who was beginning to fall back. I thought the challenge would come from the outside, but the real challenge was sitting right behind us. Rapid Centurian had the perfect trip, following right behind Mo the entire way. Going into the last turn, it became clear that the betting public picked the wrong horse as Precious Medal began to fall back and Mo started to pull away from everyone…everyone except Rapid Centurian. As they turned for home, it became a two horse race. Rapid Centurian came up the inside and Mo dug in as we hollered at the 10 inch TV and hit the table in support of our colt. As they hit the wire, Rapid Centurian’s bid for an upset fell a neck short and Mr. Mo had his first win under our ownership. It wasn’t a major victory, but half of a $9,500 purse is nothing to shake a stick at…and we finally get to order a win picture (which I will post once I get it).
You would never guess what happened after our mini celebration and cashing of winning tickets. The song came on. What song you ask? ‘Over My Head’ from the Frey. Honestly, I remember hearing it out in Pittsburgh when Danny and I walked into the casino. And now RIGHT after our race at an off track betting parlor in South Beloit! Are you kidding me??? A little bit eerie if you ask me. The other kind of ‘strange’ thing that happened was right before our race, we heard a familiar name being called over the speaker of a nearby TV. Blue Man Group. Blue Man is In Over My Head’s half brother (the story of that is back in an early blog post). I haven’t heard his name in a long time, but he was racing at Ocean Downs in Maryland last night and we just happened to hear his name being called. Also kind of eerie. Blue Man finished 3rd, which is a good finish for the little guy. Just a quick backtrack, if these two brothers were humans, Mo would be about 6’3” and Blue Man would be about 5’6”.
So now we are all set for leg 2 of the Pennsylvania Sire Series to be raced next Tuesday at Pocono Downs. I will be heading out with the lovely Laura as she gets her first taste of live horse racing. I’m sure she’ll enjoy watching me in my standard panicky freaked out nervous state of mind before the race starts. Some of the big dogs from last time, Lis Again (winner), Johnny Z (2nd) and Arctic Warrior (3rd) are all in Toronto racing in the consolation of the North American Cup that goes for $100,000. A special good luck to all those connections especially since they are not racing against us! The final of the North American Cup should be very interest as it is one of the richest events of the year and showcases the best 3 year olds in the US and Canada. The purse of $1.5 million turns a lot of heads. One horse to watch is Annieswesterncard. In Mo’s first lifetime start back at Hawthorne last July he made a very strong move near the end of the race to nearly get his nose in front at the wire, but who do you think was flying up on the outside for the victory? That’s right, Annieswesterncard. Best of luck to those connections as well.
In other racing news, my cousin Danny is about to eclipse a personal milestone this coming Sunday: his first ever start as a driver. Danny will be driving Mr. Prince, a 3 year old colt Greg owns in the Mineral Point matinee. Best of luck to Danny and hopefully he can get his driving win percentage up to 100%!
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