AQHA Racing Journal May/June 2008

Remington Runners
…DMNV Mountable takes the Derby.
Story by Richard Chamberlain

In the sport of racing the fastest horses on earth, the kind of trip one takes makes a huge difference.

DMNV’s Derby
…a sharp break from post 2 helped eighth-fastest qualifier DMNV Mountable earn his second stakes victory in the $194,623 Remington Park Derby(G1). Ezra Lee and Toby Dahl’s colt by champion Panther Mountain went 400 yards in: 19.903, winning by a length over Furrtreeous.

“He had a bad trial run, but he qualified,” said jockey Kenny Muntz, who was in the irons for trainer Jacque Uphaus. “I was on a good horse, and he had a good break. He was able to get out and do his thing like he was supposed to. Everything went right this second time around.”

DMNV Mountable is one of two stakes winners from 92 starters by his sophomore sire, a 9 year old stallion by Meter Me Gone who also sired last year’s Hobbs America Futurity(G2) winner Gone To The Mountain. The colt’s dam, Cheyennes Bullion, is a winning daughter of Bully Bullion who ran third in the 1994 Wyoming All Breed Futurity and from six starters has produced five winners, including two stakes-placed sprinters. Those runners were bred and recede by Lee and Dahl’s grandparents, Merrill and Virginia Lee of Billings, Montana.

“Our grandparents raised and raced Quarter Horses for 30 years in Montana,” said Dahl, who manages the family’s 18,000-acre Runamuk Guest Ranch at Roundup, Montana. “When Granddad died, the mares came up for sale, and my mother and my uncle were in a hurry to get them bred. I’d been the mares’ caretaker for several years, but I didn’t know they’d planned to get rid of them. I didn’t know anything about racing or bloodlines, but I did some research and found out these were quality horses. So, I called Guy Weimer, the only guy I knew in Quarter Horse racing. I didn’t know anything about Panther Mountain, but I told Guy I needed to get these mares bred to the best stud around, and he told me, well, I’ve got the stud for you.”

The breeding nicked, and DMNV grew up on the vast range of the family’s ranch.

“We don’t hothouse our horses,” Dahl said. “In World War II, our grandfather spent 42 months as a Japanese prisoner of war. Because of that experience, Granddad never believed in keeping anything in pens. They might be a little bit behind, but they’re tough.”

The winner of six of nine races, including last year’s $88,597 Kansas Jackpot Futurity(RG2), DMNV Mountable has earned $175,820. The colt on February 2 also finished second to Eyesa Jumpn in the $256,690 Harrah’s Entertainment Derby(G2) at Louisiana Downs.

Fastest qualifier Eyesa Candy Maker finished third.

Dahl and Lee are just getting started and are a long way from their finish.

“This is the first horse we’ve ever raced,” said Lee, an oil field contractor in Colorado.

“Yeah, it’s quite a road,” said his cousin. “I don’t think we’ve ever done anything that’s been this much fun.”