LONDON — Putnam Romeo got a new bridle and a new driver for his Ontario Sires Stakes debut at Western Fair Raceway on Saturday night, but the three-year-old pacing colt used a tried and true formula to earn his sixth straight visit to the winner’s circle.
Owned by Martin Bardoel’s Putnam Training Centre of Putnam, Jamie Bardoel of London and Martin and Alex Hossack of Thamesford, the �come-from-behind kid’ laid off the sharp pace set by heavy favourite Astronomical and then flew down the stretch to snatch up a one quarter length victory. The Grinfromeartoear son, who was also bred by the Bardoel’s, halted the Western Fair teletimer in a track record 1:53.2, taking a full second off the former standard set by Daylon Frontier in the 2002 Ontario Sires Stakes season.
Astronomical, with Putnam Romeo’s regular pilot Paul MacDonell in the race bike, earned second-place honours in the $43,628 Gold Elimination while Caviarandsoftmusic was three lengths back in third.
A pair of blue-blooded colts captured the other two eliminations, setting the stage for a family grudge match in the $130,000 Gold Final next weekend. Extreme Three, a full brother to $2.3 million winner Mach Three, posted an effortless 1:54 victory in the fifth race while Loverboy Hanover, a half brother to $2.6 million winner McArdle, triumphed in the eighth race with a 1:54.4 score. The pair’s elder siblings locked horns repeatedly through outstanding two and three-year-old campaigns in 2001 and 2002.
Linda Magid of Waterloo bred and owns Extreme Three and Bill Elliott handles training duties on the son of Matts Scooter, who was a two-time winner in the Grassroots program last season. Greg Wright, Jr. delivered the winning steer Saturday night, taking control of the pace before the halfway mark and cruising home to a one and one-quarter length victory over favourite Banner Yankee and Grand Bend Turbo.
Island Fantasy son Loverboy Hanover and driver Michael Langdon also opted for a front-end performance in the last elimination, sailing unchallenged around the Western Fair oval in fractions of :28.2, :57.4 and 1:26.2 before crossing the line one and three-quarter lengths up on Zooka in 1:54.4. Stonebridge Fame finished two lengths back in third while favourite Lincoln Parke made an early break and settled for fourth.
Norman Smiley of Boca Raton, FL, Gerald Smiley of Cote-Saint-Luc, QC and trainer Christopher Ryder of Allentown, NJ share ownership on Loverboy Hanover, who captured a Gold Elimination early in a two-year-old campaign that saw him net $69,953. The Smiley’s have stood on opposite sides of the fence from Magid before — the pair owned shares in McArdle throughout his racing campaign while Magid maintained ownership of Mach Three until the spring of his three-year-old season.
The top two finishers from each Gold Elimination earned an automatic berth in the May 14 Gold Final at Western Fair Raceway, while the third-place finishers awaited the results of the post position draw to see which two would reappear in front of the enthusiastic London fans next week. Soon after the last elimination Western Fair Race Secretary Ian Fleming announced that Grand Bend Turbo and Stonebridge Fame were the lucky pair, while Caviarandsoftmusic would have to settle for an also eligible position.
The complete results of the post position draw for next Saturday’s $130,000 Gold Final are as follows:
Post No. Horse Name
Post 1 Grand Bend Turbo
Post 2 Loverboy Hanover
Post 3 Banner Yankee
Post 4 Zooka
Post 5 Astronomical
Post 6 Putnam Romeo
Post 7 Stonebridge Fame
Post 8 Extreme Three
AE1 Caviarandsoftmusic
AE2 Armbro Chivalry
AE3 Major Seelster