LONDON — A group of 22 talented three-year-old pacing colts will do their best to warm up the temperature at Western Fair Raceway Saturday night when they square off in the first event of the 2005 Ontario Sires Stakes season. Among the colts hoping to make an impact in the $20 million provincial program this year is locally-owned Putnam Romeo, who heads into Saturday’s event on a five race win streak.
“He’s great gaited and very quick,” says Scott McEneny, who trains the colt for Martin Bardoel’s Putnam Training Centre Ltd. in Putnam, Jamie Bardoel of London and Martin and Alex Hossack of Thamesford.
Putnam Romeo has been polishing his skills at Woodbine Racetrack this spring, capturing two legs and the final of the Apaches Fame Series and besting his opponents by a total of 19 lengths through four starts. In preparation for Saturday’s contest McEneny gave the leggy pacer a test drive over the Flamboro Downs half-mile on April 22 and the Grinfromeartoear son responded with a convincing two and one-quarter length triumph in 1:56.3.
“For a big horse he got around no problem,” says McEneny. “And I schooled him today (Tuesday) — I changed his bridle around a bit — and he was good.”
Through the Grinfromeartoear son’s first 10 starts McEneny and driver Paul MacDonell have employed a fairly conservative strategy, allowing the competition to set the early pace and then making their move from the middle of the pack, but the Waterdown resident says things may look a little different from Post 2 at Western Fair.
“We’ve been very careful with him, racing him from off the pace, but for two starts we might have to change our strategy,” says the trainer. “Post position is the big thing for London.”
McEneny has had reason to be cautious with Putnam Romeo, in a Feb. 13 start at Woodbine the gelding made a break behind the gate.
“We’ve had to watch that he doesn’t get too hot. That’s what happened when he made the break, he got too hot behind the gate and ran into it,” explains the horseman. “And sometimes he won’t go between two horses when they are already on the gate.”
McEneny hopes the change to a more closed in bridle will assist Putnam Romeo with the transition to Western Fair’s half-mile racetrack and give MacDonell the option of using some of the gelding’s speed off the gate. Only the top two finishers in each elimination are guaranteed a spot in the May 14 Gold Final. The three third-place finishers will have to depend on luck to land one of the other two spots in the $130,000 showdown.
Among the colt’s Putnam Romeo will have to best in his quest for a Gold Final berth is one of three from the powerful Carl Jamieson stable. Caviarandsoftmusic qualified smartly at Mohawk Racetrack on Saturday and will start from the advantageous Post 1 for Princeton resident Jamieson and his partners Ken Henwood of Mississauga and Harvey Weiner of Ottawa.
Putnam Romeo also faces Island invader Astronomical, who was a major player in the division at the end of last season and has been impressive in his early efforts on the East coast for Dr. Ian Moore of Charlottetown, PEI, William Shearer of Bedford, NS and the R G McGroup Ltd. of Bathurst, NB. Astronomical makes his 2005 Ontario debut from Post 4 in the second race.
The other two $43,128 eliminations are slated for Races 5 and 8 on Western Fair Raceway’s Saturday evening program, which gets under way at 7:30 pm. Caviarandsoftmusic’s stablemates Banner Yankee and Lincoln Parke will start from Posts 7 and 6 in the second and third divisions, facing off against rivals from last season, Armbro Chivalry (Post 2 in Race 5) and Zooka (Post 4 in Race 8).