Cool Catomine finds winning form with addition of blinkers

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Cool Catomine gave trainer John Ross his first victory in the Prince of Wales Stakes on dirt at Fort Erie Race Track on July 25. Evidently, the addition of blinkers following the colt’s seventh-place finish in a maiden race over 1 1/16 miles on Woodbine’s Tapeta on June 10 has positively affected his form.

Ross said he consulted with jockey Luis Contreras following that June 10 start, and Contreras recommended adding blinkers for Cool Catomine’s next race, which resulted in his July 2 maiden victory.

“It was all a matter of teamwork between the rider and the trainer, and things worked out,” Ross said. “The first time he went a mile and a sixteenth, I really liked him in that race, and he didn’t perform the way I had been watching him work. When I watched the replay, I could see the horse looking around and hesitating. We added the blinkers, and did he ever change. He’s more focused in his races, and he keeps his mind right on business.”

Ross said Cool Catomine will be considered for the third jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, the $400,000 Breeders’ Stakes over 1 1/2 miles on turf at Woodbine on Aug. 20. Ross said he would like to see how Cool Catomine trains on turf before making his decision.

“My concern is he just had a great race on dirt, and sometimes a caution light comes on when you’re doing good and you have to switch courses when you’re doing good,” he said. “I have to be careful about my decision here. The last thing I want to do when we’re doing good now is to switch courses, [have] him not like it, and go backwards. We know synthetic he [was OK] on. We know he likes dirt. We just have to see if he likes turf.”