Boredom can be a terrible thing for some people. Take Brad Grant in mid-June 2021. Grant owns a number of trucking companies including John Grant Haulage. Covid was still prevalent and he was working from his Milton, Ontario home. He then had this notion to call trainer Jack Darling for a casual chat but it is my experience there are no such things as casual chats.
Grant and Darling have some history over the years. The call was not something out of the blue. It started off innocently but by the time the call concluded the groundwork was laid for Grant to purchase a 50 percent interest in Bulldog Hanover.
“I had watched the horse race as a two-year-old. We just had a nice chat that night and I made the casual comment that if he ever wanted to sell part of the horse I’d like to talk with him. He had not thought of selling before that and it all took about five minutes”, recalls Grant.
Darling later told this writer that Grant was one of the very few if not the only person he would have entertained as a partner. Jack is pretty much a solo act has said he likes to think of himself as a businessman who races horses. Here was an opportunity to take a very nice chunk of change off the table, eliminate some of the risk, still retain a half share and be able to continue to train and race the horse. Just an intelligent piece of business.
It also is quite likely the best piece of business that Grant has ever done with horses. He is a businessman too but it is the horses that give him his greatest satisfaction.
“Listen, my role in Bulldog is just that of cheerleader. I’m flattered that Jack let me in. While we talk regularly, the decisions regarding the racing of the horse are all his.”
By mid-September, Grant’s decision looked to be positively brilliant as Bulldog Hanover went into the $1 million North America Cup as the heavy favourite. But we all know what the result of that was.
“That one hurt. Along with a lot of other people I thought he was a winner going in. That race is a bit sentimental for me because my Dad won it with Bettors Delight all those years ago. I don’t know what happened and Jack does not know what happened to this day. Nothing wrong was found with the horse’s health so all I can say is that it was just not meant to be. But I am still not convinced the best horse won that race or the remaining races Bulldog lost. I ended the year believing he was the better horse”.
At this point Grant again expresses his admiration for Darling.
“Bulldog won his last four starts at three so was put away in a great frame of mind. That was part of what has happened this season. Jack is a total professional who cares about the horse first. Not once has there been any second guessing on my part. It has all been the most wonderful experience”.
But even then there was a hiccup in May’s Juravinski Cup at Flamboro Downs. That half-mile track proved his undoing but then the onslaught began. Last night’s victory in the Dayton Derby makes it four (count that FOUR) months since The Bulldog tasted defeat - an 11 race undefeated string that has earned the partners $1.2 million.
“Most people talk about the four wins at the Meadowlands in 22 days but they are missing the fact that in his last start at Mohawk before shipping to New Jersey, he made a big statement. Then getting Dexter Dunn to drive was a big step and a huge decision on his part. Walking away from Rockyroad Hanover and Tony Alagna was an enormous decision but Dexter comes across to me as being very analytical. And when he drives he reminds me of Wayne Gretzky who seemed to know where the puck was going next rather than where it is in the moment”.
Interestingly, of all the races it was the Hoosier Park Pacing Derby win that Grant talked the most about.
“He just crushed the field and the way he did it left the crowd in awe that night. Overpowering which says a lot because in so many of the starts he just drove away from the field. Sooner or later one has to think he will get beaten but I believe he is the type that if that happens he will come back the next start and be right back on his game”.
Grant gives full credit to Darling for coming up with the idea to breed the horse this past spring.
“He’d been thinking about it and asked what I thought. Why not I said so we’ll be reaping the reward of that. He got 80 mares which I thought was pretty good but there will be a lot more next season. And there will be some very, very good mares.”
Grant is quite proud of the fact that the horse has captured the attention of people particularly in the United States.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have been involved with Atlanta and Romona Hill but this is much bigger. He has star power and people want to see him. He is a generational horse”.
So the next step is The Red Mile and the Allerage next Sunday. If the team is lucky enough to hit a perfect October day on Kentucky they may take a run at trying to improve on his 1:45.4 record but winning the race gets the greater priority.
“I’m a great believer that records are made to be broken. The weather there may not be the greatest so that would negate any shot but it would be great just to see how fast he could go. I’d love to see him break it and just have to pray to the man upstairs for good things to happen”.
Bulldog Hanover has absolutely nothing left to prove in terms of his speed, ability to win against all comers and overall greatness.
However, Brad Grant has to prove he can make another casual telephone call pay off.