While he's defeated Hambletonian winners and horses owned by Hockey Hall of Famer Mats Sundin, this Friday's start will be special for the connections of Captain Primeau.
On Friday night, the 11-year-old gelding is expected to become only the third trotter in 24 years to start 100 races at the Big M. Captain Primeau, named after former Philadelphia Flyers captain Keith Primeau, is entered in the fifth race on the card and will leave from post four with driver Corey Callahan at the lines for trainer Conny Svensson.
Captain Primeau has won 13 of 99 lifetime starts at the Meadowlands. The only trotters since 1992 to start more races at the North Jersey oval are Great Adventure, with 111, and Close Encounter, with 103. Great Adventure retired in 2007; Close Encounter in 2010.
For his career, Captain Primeau has won 32 of 189 races and earned $326,168 for Svensson and his wife Anneli. The Svenssons also bred Captain Primeau, who is a son of Enjoy Lavec out of the world champion mare Lizzie Lee Brook and is a full brother to stakes-winner Brindamour.
Conny Svensson had dibs on naming the horse if it was a boy and planned to call him simply Primeau. But the Svenssons’ then nine-year-old daughter Sarah came up with the addition to the name.
“He’s the only horse that all of us have seen born,” said Conny, who is a longtime assistant and farrier to trainer Jimmy Takter. “When he was born and stuck his head out, Sarah saw the white star – it looked like a ‘C’ when he was newborn – and said ‘That’s Captain Primeau.’ So that’s what he became.”
Captain Primeau was unraced at age two because of soreness and immaturity. He was sent to Quebec and won his first three races as a three-year-old for Pierre Bovay at Hippdrome de Montreal before capturing the Future Stars Series at Rideau Carleton Raceway. He returned to New Jersey in late summer, but colic surgery brought his season to an end with five victories in nine starts.
He won his first race at age four, at Tioga Downs, but he had issues with making breaks and was limited to eight races for the year. The following season, he started to become a more consistent performer, hitting the board in 10 of 17 races and earning $53,815.
“He was a lot of trouble in the beginning,” Conny said. “I think Jimmy (Takter) drove him his first eight or so starts (at age five) and finally got him pretty solid. But there were a lot of breaks in the beginning. The last few years he’s been pretty solid.”
Conny added with a laugh, “He’s finally learned.”
Captain Primeau finished third in the 2009 Hiram Woodruff Series final at the Meadowlands, but has done the vast majority of his work in conditioned races at the Big M and other area tracks. Among his most memorable victories were a win over 2005 Hambletonian champion Vivid Photo at Harrah’s Philadelphia in 2011 and a triumph over Photo Maxx from post 10 at odds of 24-1 in 2010 at the Meadowlands.
“When he beat Vivid Photo at Chester, that’s a race I always remember,” Conny said. “Even though it was late in Vivid Photo’s career, to me he was one of the real champions. For Captain to beat him, that was really big. (Trainer) Roger Hammer congratulated us. That was really neat.”
The win over Photo Maxx was memorable not only because Captain Primeau and driver Ron Pierce rallied from ninth place in the final quarter-mile, but because Photo Maxx was then owned by former hockey star Mats Sundin. And track announcer Ken Warkentin put a signature call on the finish.
“Coming into the last turn, Pierce was sitting last and buried,” Anneli said. “You’re wondering where is he going to go? Before you know it, here he comes, and he beat Photo Maxx right at the wire.
“They always say ‘Captain Primeau scores’ (when he wins) at the Meadowlands, but that was the first time.”
Captain Primeau, who has had 30 different drivers throughout his career, has won four of 18 races this year and earned $21,246. He was third in his most recent start, at Harrah’s Philadelphia, but won twice in the GSY Amateur Series at the Meadowlands prior to that race. His race Friday will be sponsored by Razer horseshoes; Captain Primeau was one of the first horses in North America to wear the shoes.
“As long as he wants to race and can compete, he’ll be racing,” Conny said. “There’s nothing that tells me that he wants to quit soon. There’s no sign of that. He just had back-to-back wins at the Meadowlands, even though it was amateur races. He still wants to do it. He’s happy to go race.
“He’s one of the kindest horses you want to be around. When they have fans come through the paddock, they always come to us. He loves the attention. He’s great like that. He’s a very social horse.”
The key to Captain Primeau’s longevity is his routine.
“We let him do whatever he wants,” said Anneli, who wrote a song titled 'Let’s Go Captain Primeau,' which was recorded by Lisa Bouchelle. “When we train him, we don’t bring a whip or a stopwatch. He does whatever he wants to do, all the time.
“When we come back from racing, you’ll think he’s tired, but we turn him out and he gallops around the whole field and rolls around and jumps and kicks.”
Added Conny, “He’s a very happy horse. I think a big thing is that he’s in the field year-round. He lives outside. With his mentality it’s very important that he’s outside. He’s never been happy in a stall.”
The Svenssons will keep Captain Primeau at their home whenever he retires. Conny thinks the gelding will make a nice riding horse.
But for now, there is still racing to be done.
“He’s definitely a family member,” Anneli said. “I feel like when I go to race him, it’s like when you go with your kid to do a sport. Of course, they can’t always win, but you always feel proud when they try.”
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
This is what having horses is
This is what having horses is all about, thank you for your story and your SONG, BEAUTIFUL, sure hope they play it at the Meadowlands friday, and good luck.