ITS MAGIC
We know. Mattican City and Bob Magic theoretically could wind up racing at the same the track on the same night possibly even in the same and it wouldn’t be the first time such a thing had ever happened.

You see, Mattican City and Bob Magic are father and son! And get this Mattican City a brother to Mattcando and Brandons Cowboy is now nine years old and is indeed a GELDING.

Of course he wasn’t when he sired the now 3-year-old Bob Magic, one of contenders in The Apache’s Fame series at Woodbine. Mattican City is now currently racing at Buffalo but he’s raced for many years as well. The dam involved Billary Clinton is a sister to the famed Central Park West.

Seems we remember one night at Roosevelt when Rendezvous Truder and Rendezvous Mark wound up on the same card on the night and they too we’re father and son. At the time, “Truder” was seven while son Mark was four suggesting Mark had resulted from some inadvertent pasture situation when pop was still a colt.

Don’t remember if Rendezvous Truder won the A3 pace that night but Rendezvous Mark won a class C event paying something like Thor Hanover’s $144 Messenger mutual. Jerry Silverman (not the trainer) but an old friend of mine, Commissioner Scotty Tickets and Myron Bell cashed in on the “oddity” although he really bet the horse because his brother’s name was Mark.

Coincidently. Mattican City (Matt’s Scooter-Angel Be Good) and Billary Clinton (Presidential Ball-Park Ave Bell) were sold as part of the 1996 Perretti Farms consignment to Harrisburg. Bringing $45,000 and $15,500 respectively. In that
THEIR SON, Bob Magic is a 3-year-old whatever happened between them fortunately did not happen here!

GAIT PURITY
Almost never see the trotting bred pacer anymore. Which, can apparently be attributed to gait purification in that we’ve simply put the double gaited tendencies far enough back that the contribution is almost negligible now.

Time was stallions like Darn Flashy, Victory Song and Worthy Boy to name a few virtually made a living with both trotters and pacers even though all were bred to trot.

Darn Flashy a Darnley son like Darn Safe, Lord Gordon etc did account for some classy trotters like Darn Dandy but was he ever known for pacers like Public Affair, Mr. C Song and the feared Roosevelt stretch terror Pinehaven Flash.

Worthy Boy may have sired the greatest Hambletonian sire of all in Star’s Pride but a look at his top 10 money winning list discloses pacers Gold Worthy, Harold J, Libbys Boy. High Level and Stand By. Of those, Harold J remains in the record book via daughter Oxford.Mary Ann, the dam of the all time fastest pacer Cambest.

Even Victory Song whose line has seen resurgence via the Noble Victory extensions of Garland Lobell and Balanced Image had a pair of pacers in his top10 list in Times Square and Smart Money. Times Square had an excuse being out of a Bert Abbe mare but Smart Money was out of a daughter of Scotland.

Oh well Worthy Boy had a daughter named Breath O Spring a full sister no less to the above mentioned from Harold J with both being from Lady Scotland. Breath O Spring had two pacers who kept the Castleton coffers overflowing a good many years, they being Race Time by Good Time and Storm Damage by Bret Hanover.

TIOGA/VERNON DOINGS
Those series events at the new Tioga Downs and revitalized Vernon Downs look interesting especially those Kindergarten affairs for 2-year-olds which will include six preliminary legs and individual $85,000 finals for the specific sexes and gaits.

Could be a good situation to prep one the lucrative fall classics later on!

Bob Marks