When Sonny Via looks back on a long and prosperous life, he thinks – naturally – of his kids, grandkids and one great grandchild, but he also has fond memories of a horse he bought in 2004 and placed in steeplechase competitions in 2005.
"We started him five times that year," he recalls. " He won all five of them!"
The horse had an odd name – an expression in use around the time of the First World War when the U.S. government advertised Liberty Bonds because if the Kaiser wins the war, “Good Night Shirt.” Via thinks it was a phrase that people used to keep from swearing.
“It was an expression that my father would use back in 1901, and he didn’t use foul language," he explains. "When he saw something that he questioned or he didn’t quite agree with, he would say, 'Good Night shirt!’ Maybe clench his teeth a little bit.”
In his lifetime, Good Night Shirt would earn more than a million dollars – a rarity for his kind of racing and a record that got him into the Racing Hall of Fame in upstate New York. Of course, none of that mattered to the horse who had his own idea of rewards. He preferred mint candies — so much that Via warns you had to remember to unwrap them, or he'd eat them with the cellophane on.
Via is pleased to have a race named for Good Night Shirt – a fitting way to celebrate his own 94th year as a fan of the sport.
“My oldest child is 70!" he notes with pride.
And what is the secret to his longevity?
"Probably liquor," he says, noting it's a preservative.
The spring races are set for April 27th at Foxfield in Charlottesville.
