TALLDARKNHANDSOME MAKES IT 4 IN A ROW AT THE MIGHTY M
If you can’t be the best be as good as you can be with what
you have, could certainly pertain to the “gentle (equine) giant”,
Talldarknhandsome, who yesterday (May 15) extended his winning streak to four
consecutive with a 1:58.1 wire to wire triumph.
No, Talldarknhandsome is not a world class pacer nor is he a
champion of sorts. He is however a decent sort of a pacer who currently is at
the top of his game.
True to his name the pacer is a tall dark and handsome and
towers over most of the horses on the grounds here at the
Mighty M and lately he’s been on a tear for trainer Danny Gill.
On Thursday afternoon Bruce Aldrich Jr. was at the controls
behind Talldarknhandsome for the first time because the pacer’s regular driver
Jimmy Marohn, Jr. was out of town. But it didn’t seem to make any difference
since the pacer responded well for him and delivered trainer Danny Gill another
win.
“He’s a big giant horse whose power steering fluid is real
low, “Aldrich joked after the race meaning that Talldarknhandsome was hard to
steer.
“He bears in on the turns and bears out on the straightaways
but I guess that’s what he needs to do to get over the half mile track. And
yes, I was glad to be on the front end because he’s hard to see around.”
After starting from the three-hole Aldrich and
Talldarknhandsome didn’t make the front until Zeke Parker (with Gone Baby Gone)
grabbed leather as the field headed to the quarter which was paced in :28.2.
From there, without any noticeable zigging in on the turns
and zigging out of the straightaways Talldarkandhandsome seemed to be in
control despite Parker tight on Aldrich’s back with his pacer.
They raced one-two up the backside and around the final turn
where Talldarknhandsome actually opened up a two length lead. But in the lane
with the combination of the leader tiring and the challenger rallying, the two
headed for paydirt and at the wire the ‘big guy’ prevailed by a head.
Owned by brothers Ed and James Hall, Talldarknhandsome
paid $3.00 for win, his fifth in nine seasonal starts.
