by Mark Ratzky, publicity, Cal-Expo

Sacramento, CA — There is a lot more to Putoneonnetformom than the story behind the name.

First there is the father/daughter/son team of owner/breeders Jeff, Gerald and Diana Cimini; the sire Trot For Joy, who raced strong until his forced retirement at 14; and the dam Light The Lamp, who died just five months after giving birth to her first foal.

“We’ve been involved in harness racing since the late 1970s,” Jeff explained. “My dad was a jockey in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but he gave that up before I was born.

“We had moved to California and our neighbor was Len Corbisero, who was known as the ‘Goodie King’ because of all the promotional items he gave away as part of his business. He was a harness owner, and he took us to Hollywood Park at night and then to the backstretch in the morning. I remember riding on my dad’s lap in the sulky at age 8, and I was hooked.”

The Ciminis have had their share of nice horses over the years, including Delusionofgrandeur, who registered 38 lifetime victories and banked more than $178,000 in his career.

“That was our first homebred winner, and it was a big thrill,” Jeff said.

This brings us to Light The Lamp, another homebred who was a very special member of the clan.

“She and I broke our maiden in the same race, and I was on cloud nine for a week,” Cimini recalled. “She had her problems, including EPM, and we ended up breeding her to Trot For Joy, who was a game veteran who was top class right up to his retirement.”

Soon after he was born, the weanling to be named Putoneonnetformom developed a blood infection and things did not look good.

“We rushed him to the hospital and they wrote him off, but somehow he survived. Unfortunately, Light The Lamp died five months later from the West Nile Virus.”

The Ciminis are big hockey fans, which may give you a major clue when it comes to Light The Lamp, who was a daughter of Armbro Goal, and her son.

“Light The Lamp is when you score a goal, and as a tribute to her, we named the colt Putoneonnetformom. He never won a Sire Stakes, but he had the misfortune of coming along the same year as Hitchiker, who won just about every one of them. We had a lot of seconds, though, and were very proud of him.”

Now a 7-year-old in the Rocky Stidham barn, Putoneonnetformom has won three of his last six starts while part of an outstanding rivalry with Franks Best for the top trotting position at Cal Expo.

“He’s got his father’s longevity and his mother’s heart,” Jeff Cimini said. “That’s a great combination.”

Sophomore filly Sire Stakes hold Friday night spotlight at Cal Expo

Two $15,000 California Sire Stakes for the 3-year-old pacing and trotting distaffers are on tap at Cal Expo on Friday evening (Nov. 25), with Dine N Wine and Flea Flicker seeking trophy encores in very contentious fields.

Dine N Wine looms large in the pacing event after posting a decisive victory in the most recent stakes gathering two weeks ago. The Desomer Stables homebred daughter of Power Of Art and the New Zealand mare Bordeaux Franco N is conditioned by Vickie Desomer and will be guided by Steve Wiseman.

In the last Sire Stakes for this group on Nov. 11, the Desomer color-bearer was sent off the 7-2 second choice. She made an eye-catching move at the half to take command on the final bend, then extended her advantage to the stretch en route to a 3-1/4 length score in that affair.

Meanwhile, Flea Flicker is fresh from picking up her initial stakes victory two weeks ago for owner/breeder/trainer Mark Anderson and pilot Rich Wojcio. A daughter of Armbro Variable and the popular Valleymeister mare Benn’s Fire, Flea Flicker sat the pocket in that stakes decision and then overpowered pace-setting Claim Jumper to prevail by two lengths.

This week will find an abbreviated schedule, with programs on Friday (Nov. 25) and Saturday (Nov. 26) at 6 p.m. (PST).