Brennan and the ‘Old Men’

YONKERS, NY, Sunday, January 14, 2018 — Put Foiled Again together with Run and Tell Pap and you get a 25-year-old harness racing gelding. Well, not quite, but…

While the exploits of 14-year-old pacer Foiled Again—he of the 99 career wins and sport’s-best $7.6 million lifetime bankroll—have been well-documented by any number of authors (including this one), trotter Run and Tell Pap also just keeps on keepin’ on.

The 11-year-old son of High Falls pounced from the pocket at a $19 mutuel Sunday afternoon (Jan. 14^th). From post position No. 4, he won the $20,000, sixth race by a neck in 2:30.1 for the mile-and-a-quarter distance.

‘Pap,’ acquired by co-owners (as Burke Racing, trainer) Ron Burke and Weaver Bruscemi in late November, stalked Jacks to Open (Matt Kakaley) around the oval, then picked him off late. Run and Tell Pap, who makes his living as an optional $20,000 claimer, has ‘only’ 68 career wins in 233 starts to go along with more than $766,000 in earnings.

He’s compiled four, six-figure purse seasons, including one as a 2-year-old and one a season ago at 10.

What these two grizzled vets have in common, besides being Burke stablemates and winning here the past two days, is one George Brennan.

“This trotter (Run and Tell Pap) seems as if can do go all day,” Brennan said. “I thought he was good last week (first-up before tiring), but his hopples seemed a bit tight. Today, I just moved my bike a bit closer to him and no problem.”

As far any trade secrets to driving the geriatric geldings, Brennan deferred.

“None. They’re just pros,” he said. “I mean Foiled Again last (Saturday) night, gets a bit lazy on the front end, then sees another horse and he knows what to do.”

With 167 wins between the two of them, they know exactly what to do.

Frank Drucker