Romeo really caning car in pursuit of rides
WELL-TRAVELLED jockey Pietro Romeo is going to need a brand new Subaru WRX very soon.
A relative newcomer to the north Queensland riding ranks, Romeo has become known for hitting the road to all parts of the region to jump on a horse in the morning for work, or in a race in the afternoon.
Romeo is originally from the UK but has been based on the Sunshine Coast of late, before relocating to Townsville around six weeks ago.
The smiling hoop does not just ride at Cluden Park, he is often on the road to smaller tracks that do not have big numbers of trackwork riders, often to Innisfail, Atherton or even up to Cannon Park.
Trainers appreciate the time and effort Romeo puts into his craft and their horses – rewarding him with race rides, and he says the racing industry is much more genuine in the north of the state.
In the process, he reckons he has “flogged” his wheels and will need a fresh car soon enough.
If he keeps riding winners in the north, the new car will pay for itself.
“I spread myself around a little bit just to get a bit of traction in the north after moving up from the Sunshine Coast,” Romeo said.
“I am sticking with those that stick with me, to be honest. I have a Subaru WRX and it has done 270,000km and I have only had it for two years. “It is flogged. “It is always good riding against new riders, new trainers and new tracks like I am up here – it is different in the north but I am enjoying it.”
The 36-year-old rider rounded out a Sharlee D’Avila training treble to open the non-TAB card at Atherton yesterday afternoon. The local trainer picked up the first two winners before Romeo added a third to give Sharlee her super Sunday, booting home Narda Shar.
He had been aboard the gelding on four of his last five trips to the races, which included a win at Townsville just over two months ago.
“He has his own little quirks and he is a free-running type of horse and if you try to restrain him too much, he does not really run on,” Romeo said.
“He does not have a great deal of a turn of foot so you need to find a happy medium where he is travelling, thinking that he is going better than what he is. He responds to my style of riding well.”
Narda Shar beat home the Mareeba-trained Whinging Wife while Peter Rowe’s Nick Night Out flashed home to run a place for the third time from his last four starts.
Romeo picked up a race-torace double as Buxton broke through for a well deserved victory in the Benchmark 69 Handicap.
As is usually the case at Morrow Park, the locals controlled racing, D’Avila training three winners before Lisa Donovan, who trains Buxton, chimed in with one herself.