What he lacked in vision, he made up for with heart and talent. Alberta standout Mateo could join the likes of Somebeachsomewhere, Rocknroll Hanover and Bettors Delight with a win the Three-Year-Old Pacing Colt division at the 2017 O'Brien Awards.
Mateo and Ontario standout Classic Pro earned nominations in harness racing's glamour boy division. No Alberta-sired horse has won an O'Brien Award, and the rarity of the situation isn't lost on the colt's co-owner and regular driver, Jim Marino of Surrey, B.C.
"It was an amazing year. A real nice colt. My trainer, Justin Currie, did a great job with the horse and kept him as good as he could all year. He finished the year a little bit sick but I have no complaints; it was an amazing ride."
Bred by Kathleen and Clifford Coonfer, of Olds, Alberta and co-owned by Marino with Currie's partner, Christine Cutting, Mateo posted 15 top-three finishes from 16 races and banked more than $232,000 in earnings. His richest payday was a victory in the Western Canada Pacing Derby at Northlands Park. He also won several Alberta Sires Stakes events over the season, but the highlight for Marino was definitely the Derby win from Post 8.
"We didn't have much luck in the draw of a lot of stakes races but the horse seemed to overcome it," Marino told Trot Insider. "In the Western Canada Pacing Derby -- which I had never won -- we won it from the eight hole. That would be my favourite moment."
That there were even moments in harness racing for Mateo and Marino seemed like longshots in hindsight. Marino was involved in an on-track accident at Fraser Downs just shy of three years ago -- January 23, 2015. Marino was thrown from his sulky, broke his left femur, tore his left ACL and broke bones in his left wrist. He would require multiple surgeries and spent two full months in the hospital.
Currie took over Marino's barn and as a thank-you gift, Marino offered Currie a trip to Mexico. Instead, Currie suggested they partner on a yearling. Together, they liked the pedigree page on Mateo but found the horse was pulled from the 2015 ASHA Yearling Sale as he was blind in one eye. The partners sought out the horse and took a chance.
Racing with a full cup over his left eye, Mateo won four of his nine starts as a freshman and didn't miss the top three. The son of Blue Burner - Mater Deo continued his consistent form and only missed one cheque as a sophomore -- his last race of 2017.
"Justin did a great job keeping the horse as fresh as he could," noted Marino. "He was a good horse, and I owe it to him."
Marino was the recipient of the phone call from Standardbred Canada notifying him that his horse was an O'Brien Award finalist, an achievement that seems straight out of a Hollywood script with all that's transpired in the last three years.
"I was absolutely amazed. It's such a huge honour for us to be nominated for an O'Brien Award...a horse from the west, especially, to be mentioned in the same breath as some of these nice colts in Ontario is just amazing."
Not expecting to get the call for an awards ceremony the first weekend of February, Marino had already made plans to attend another event.
"I'm not going to be there but Justin and Christine will...I feel they deserve more credit than I do anyways," noted Marino. "I'll be in Minnesota at the Super Bowl...I hope to get back to the O'Briens one year!
If his numbers from 2017 could be replicated, Marino might just get a nod in the Horsemanship category in the future. He banked more than $1 million both on the training and driving side -- career-best training numbers and his second best year in the racebike. He feels Marc Campbell will be the winner of the 2017 O'Brien Award of Horsemanship after his record-breaking season in Atlantic Canada.
"Realistically, it's Marc's year to win it ...I'd just be coming down for the party," said Marino with a laugh.
The O'Brien nomination is bittersweet for Marino. At the same time the O'Brien Award finalists were announced, he was finalizing the sale of Mateo to U.S. interests.
"Justin and Christine just started their own family, they have a baby so they have to think about it that way and there's a horse shortage in the States so they're willing to buy," said Marino. "As tough as it was, you have to let these horses go and hope they go on to great things for the new owners.
"We never ever thought about selling. As soon as the three-year-old season was over, people started calling. And conversations started happening, and deals got done."
Marino also confirmed that a stall would be open in his barn after the sale of filly pacing standout Yoga Pants.
"I understand it's business but it would have been nice to have these horses around for a couple more years. I enjoyed the time I did have with them," stated Marino. "With Yoga Pants, I only got beat once. In two years. [In that race] I had the outside and came up sick and got parked. It was just an unbelievable ride."
The winner of the three-year-old pacing colt category will be announced at the O’Brien Awards Gala on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the Hilton Mississauga / Meadowvale Hotel in Mississauga, Ontario.
Tickets for the 2017 O'Brien Awards are now on sale and can be purchased by contacting the Industry Marketing Department at 905-858-3060.
Follow the latest updates on the O’Brien Awards on Standardbred Canada’s Facebook Event page and on the SC website.