-By Michael Carter, for Buffalo
Raceway
Wen you think of aging wine, it is
some of the best you could ever have/drink, but when it comes to horse racing a
lot of the times the older a horse gets sometimes they will fall off of their
game. Since coming to Buffalo Raceway I
have seen three horses that are what I consider “war horses” all with a ton of
class.
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| (Photo Courtesy: Steve Roth Photo) |
In
2005 there was an unsuspecting trotter that no one would have ever expected to
do well. His name was Self Professed and
he did not always have it as easy as he does right now. When he was a yearling the connections found
out that he had OCD (oesteochondrosis dissecan, which can produce artilage or
bone fragments) and they took care of that putting him behind about 6 weeks. Self Professed was once trained by Don Swick,
and now trained by Ashley Holliday and owned by Resilient Racing sometimes its
like things have never ended. He was 4th
in a great race last out and 2 back won a race in an absolutely gutsy performance. Holliday says “Self is one of those horse
that you don’t really have to train, you can just tell by his personality and
demeanor that he knows his job and he knows how to do it. She continued “He loves his treats, apples
are his absolute favorite and right now it’s about keeping him happy and
sound. Self Professed was a valiant 3rd
in his Hambletonian Elimination and faded in the Final, but he was a lot more
than anyone expect. Age may have hit
him, but his resilience is still around and at over 1 million dollars lifetime
he is still doing well.
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| (Photo Courtesy: Steve Roth Photo) |
In
2007 there was a gutsy 3 Year old named Running book who took the harness
racing world by surprise. He was a 40/1
winner in the Meadowlands Pace elimination and was perfect that night. When he returned to the final he faded badly
to 6th after leading most of the way. He comes to Buffalo Raceway now 10 years old
and is returning to his winning ways.
Trainer JD Perrin just got this horse recently and has taken him from a
$10,000 Claimer to an Open winner last night (3/8/2014) in less than a
month. Perrin says “He is very nice to
work with in the barn and on the track.
Being a stud when other horses are around he is very vocal, likes to let
everyone know who the alpha is.” Perrin
continued by saying “Good News for him (Perrin) is he is still an alpha on the
track.” You would think that a horse like
this would just give in after a while and be ready for retirement at this age,
but Perrin says “Training a class horse is nice, but you just have to focus on
keeping them sound and healthy, they know how to win.” He is right about one thing this horse really
does know how to win; he dominated last night in what should have been a very
intense race.
Think
Gold started his career in the Ontario Sire Stakes before reaching out his
feelers and sort of dropping down. In
2006, he was trotting for some very good money and succeeding here and
there. Think Gold at the time was being
trained by Carl Jamieson in Canada and won his elimination at 3 years old in
the $31,390 elim. He raced against
horses such as Flirtin Man that wound up going to the Hambletonian and other
races and doing very well for themselves.
In 2013, he was owned by Isabelle Beaudoin and trained by her father
Jacques. Isabelle said “He is the type
of horse that needs to be in charge. He
didn’t like head poles, tongue ties, and his mouth getting touched and was very
tough to warm up.” Beaudoin continued
“He was a sweetheart though and a horse that rarely required any maintenance
and always gave his all fighting every week.”
Since coming to Buffalo Raceway he has really proved that finishing 2nd
last out and having some decent performances.
These
three are just some of the few “war horses” still around, but they all 3 have
something in common. Just because the
stakes season is over for them doesn’t mean they are through. People love a good racing story here is one
with three horses who truly love what they do.
Racing at the Hamburg
Oval continues throughout the month of March on Wednesday and Thursday with a
first post of 5:00pm, Friday and Saturday 6:40 pm.
Racing in April will
take place Wednesday at 5:00 pm, Friday and Saturday at 6:40 pm.
Located on The Fairgrounds
in Hamburg, NY, Buffalo Raceway hosts harness racing January through July.
Simulcast wagering is available Wednesday through Monday from the top harness
and thoroughbred tracks year round.
