“Depending on how the race unfolds on a half, I think he can hold his own against all of the horses for sure. He paced a big back half last week and had some road trouble along the way. He always wants to go forward and his attitude is great. Horses like that, they can overcome a lot.”
Under trainer Tony O’Sullivan’s patient guidance, an assuming Badlands Hanover yearling has grown into one of the major contenders heading into Monday’s pair of Battle of Waterloo eliminations at Grand River Raceway.
Partners Eric Cherry of Let It Ride Stables Inc. and O’Sullivan purchased Semi Automatic privately, attracted to his solid pedigree. Having had luck with Badlands Hanover in the past, they were also compelled by the maternal line. His dam, Topgun Lady, is a D M Dilinger sister to racing greats the likes of Invitro and Bigtime Ball.
“Eric (Cherry) is involved with Badlands Hanover as a member of the syndicate and he was contacted by the breeder personally, as they were looking to sell him privately,” said O’Sullivan. “Eric worked out a deal with them and we got him in August of last year.”
Having only seen a picture of the horse, they took a chance on his pedigree and a deal was struck. As they broke the yearling, health problems put training on hold.
“He was sick on and off a lot when we got him. We had to give him some time off periodically, but he always trained well. He was a bit scrawny and didn’t put on a lot of weight, it can go either way but I thought if we gelded him he might put on that weight. We didn’t really expect him to have a stud career down the road so we figured it was the best choice for him.
“He was never flashy by any means, but then when we got down to about 2:20, the lights went on. The more we trained, the more he went, the faster he got, he was healthier and stronger.”
O’Sullivan has had an eye for talent, having trained a stable with the combined earnings of $23.3 million dollars over the last fifteen years. Based out of Puslinch, Ont., he has been a dominating presence on both sides of the border.
“He probably turned out to be in the top tier of my stable, he was very unassuming from the beginning and the others trained better but he seemed to get so much stronger as he matured.”
With the Battle of Waterloo his only stakes engagement outside of the Ontario Sires Stakes program, his connections are playing it by ear as to what the year may hold. They are considering the next step race-by-race with many opportunities on the horizon.
“We figured he would be a Sires Stakes horse when we got him. The sustaining payment wasn’t made when he was a weanling, so we had to pay quite a bit to get him in and we figured that was enough. If he was a good OSS horse, there’s lots of money to be made there and good racing opportunities for him.”
Having raced off the pace in his last two starts, those looking at the program may assume that they’ll see Semi Automatic racing similarly under James MacDonald’s direction. Though this may be a trip MacDonald has to consider, O’Sullivan isn’t inclined to believe that is the only strategy going into his elimination.
“We qualified him off the pace and the other night he had the nine hole. James and I thought that if he could find a spot, then do it… but it was his second start and I didn’t want him overraced just for the sake of it. He’s better with something to aim at but I think he can hold his own in that group of horses.”
Installed as 8-5 on the morning line, Semi Automatic will face a strong field. Among them is Ron Adams trainee Carolina Hurricane, who is coming off a second place finish in 1:52.2 in OSS Gold action. O’Sullivan is confident he will see his horse among the top finishers, with the hopes of earning a spot in the final on Industry Day.
“The two hole will be great for him, inside on the half suits anyone. He’s a really sensible horse, as long as he angles the half okay, which he should. I expect him to give a good account of himself out there.”
Post time for race one of Monday’s elimination races is 6:30 p.m. To view the entries, click on one of the following links: Monday Entries - Grand River Raceway -- Program Pages - Grand River Raceway.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Hannah Beckett; photo courtesy Iron Horse Photo)