Response to a Query Sent Long Ago

The other day, I checked my email on Hotmail and found an invitation from an agent to submit the first 50 pages from Black Pearls. It was a very nice invitation -- ok, maybe it was from a 'template.' -- but it was a nice template. The thing is, I sent this guy a query nearly a year ago. I was astounded. On the one hand, it stunned me that it would take an agent nearly a year to respond. On the other, it knocked me out that any agent would be so diligent as to still be trolling queries that he received so long ago. Wow!