Sometimes a horse comes along that is just different from the others - its talent far greater than the rest. When that happens, the joy and positivity brought to our industry is almost incalculable. This was definitely the case with Bulldog Hanover and his team in 2022. So how does one properly pay tribute to such a wonderful equine athlete? He’ll be named Canada’s Horse of the Year for certain, and he’s already been named winner of the prestigious Cam Fella Award. At TROT, our tribute to Bulldog is an oral history of his life… a series of quotes coming from those closest to him over the years. It turned out to be what is possibly the longest feature in TROT’s 49-year-history, but if the Bulldog isn’t worth it then who is? By Dan Fisher.
(Justin Fisher Photo)
The cast of characters:
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky DVM - Former Executive Vice President, Hanover Shoe Farms.
Jack Darling - Owner, trainer.
Dexter Dunn - Driver.
Jody Jamieson - Driver.
John Mallia - Asst. Trainer/Caretaker.
Noel Daley - Trainer.
Adam Bowden - Owner/President, Diamond Creek Farm.
Bob McClure - Driver.
Randy Waples - Driver.
Brad Grant - Owner.
Trevor Henry - Driver.
Sonja Booth - Caretaker (Bulldog’s Caretaker in the U.S.).
Dr. Ian Moore DVM - Owner, trainer.
Ann Straatman - Part owner/Reproduction Manager, Seelster Farms.
Felix Marion - Blacksmith.
John DeLong - Driver.
BEFORE THE EARLY DAYS
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: The thought process behind the mating was that the mare had kind of been a disappointment, but there had been two horses in the family that had been ‘Canadian horses’. When you have a mare that’s been questionable it’s better to breed her to more of a restricted province or state where she might stand out better… we thought that Ontario people might give her more of a shot. Shadow Play is the kind of horse that can really make a beautiful foal, and Artsplace and Shadow Play has been a good cross. We wanted to try something new as she had been a disappointment and Shadow Play was the sire we landed on because of some of those reasons.
THE EARLY DAYS
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I look at all the foals the morning after they’re born… I view their markings, their conformation, and figure out if we have to do any corrective stuff. I’m sure that if I went back and looked at my notes [on Bulldog] they’d be positive. He was born beautiful and he stayed beautiful. At the time it would’ve been, ‘Oh this is a nice Shadow Play that Bjs Squall had,’ but he certainly wouldn’t have been what we thought was going to be one of our elite yearlings. I was probably thinking that this is a very nice colt, maybe this will be the one that works out for her. He wasn’t a Muscle Hill or a Captaintreacherous or a Somebeachsomewhere… I’m sure that I marked him as a nice foal with no corrections needed and I went on to the next foal.
(Hanover Shoe Farms Photo)
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I view the weanlings/yearlings constantly right up until they go to the sale. I remember that every time I looked at him I really, really liked him, but again, you know, he was one of them that we kept in the bottom barn, where we keep the third-day horses. I kept thinking that he was a really nice colt, and that if someone was going to ask me for a mid-range pacing colt, or an Ontario-bred, that I was going to suggest this colt. Even when we moved them to the fairgrounds [before they go to the sale] he was one of these horses that you wouldn’t even know he was there unless you went looking for him. He was not a troublemaker, he didn’t do anything wrong. He was a good feeling colt, he wasn’t a kid’s horse by any means, but if you asked him to do something he did it willingly. He didn’t have a mean streak or a sour streak. Until you pulled him out you never even knew he was there, but when you pulled him out it was always like ‘Wow this is a nice horse’. He always just had a really good attitude. He had a great personality and a wonderful presence about him. I could never have written a bad note about him.
BLACK BOOK SALE, HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA (NOVEMBER, 2019)
Jack Darling: That year I was only looking at Ontario-sired yearlings, and for that particular sale I was only looking at fillies really - I already thought that I had enough colts. But I ended up just buying one yearling that week - a colt. Bulldog Hanover.
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I gave him a nine out of ten… people that know my rating system know that I basically don’t give tens, so for all intensive purposes, nine is the highest score for a yearling to get from me - he got it.
Jack Darling: When the videos come out I look at them… I try not to get too wrapped up in the pedigrees, I want to see if I like the individual. The horse either gets a checkmark or not, and I guess he got a checkmark.
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I’ve heard that some people say he toes out a bit right-front, but he certainly did not do that as a yearling. He was about as good looking, muscled, and well put together as a yearling could be.
Jack Darling: When I get to the sale, as far as Hanover, Bridgette [Jablonsky] has always been good to me. I’ll always talk to her… she knows what I like so she’ll give me a list of the ones she thinks I’ll like. Bulldog was on that list… and he already had a checkmark from me on his video.
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: Every year Jack asks me for the horses that I think he would like, and he happens to be a very easy person to make a list for because he has a type. And he very, very rarely will stray from that. There’s a certain type of horse that fits his mold, and that horse was all-Jack. That horse was built for him, like made for him.”
Jack Darling: I remember the first time I saw him. He wasn’t selling until the third day but I saw him the day before the sale started. He really jumped out at me and he was on my mind throughout the rest of the sale. I was looking for a filly though and for some reason, through the first two days of the sale, I couldn’t find one I liked. I didn’t even bid on one now that I think of it.
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I was disappointed when he only brought $28,000. I thought he was going to bring fifty to sixty [thousand dollars] so of course I was disappointed. I’ve seen people write recently that we were crazy if we expected more because he was the mare’s 14th foal and because Shadow Play was out-of-favour at that time… but I’ve seen it. Horses that look like him as yearlings don’t come around that often. She had just had a good one [Blaise MM Hanover; $516,855]... she’s an Artsplace filly who had a ton of ability, from a great family - Lady Ashlee Ann. I thought his looks would overcome any questions about her production record.
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: When I set that number at [$50,000] I knew that Jack liked him. I figured that at least one more person would like him and we’d get to fifty. I thought that Dr. Moore and Jack would be the two people bidding on that colt. I think that I may have read somewhere that Dr. Moore had been done buying for the year or something but I’m not sure.
Dr. Ian Moore: I looked at him at the farm and I definitely liked him, but I bought somewhere between four and six yearlings earlier that year and I bought a few more in Harrisburg before he sold… So I was full up for the year before he got into the ring. We watched him sell though and watched Jack sign for him, so for Shadow Play’s sake we were glad Jack got him. Interestingly enough I think we bought Shadow Play on the last day of Harrisburg years ago, so sometimes it works out for you and sometimes it doesn’t (laughing).
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I was glad that Jack got the colt, and got him for maybe half of what I thought he’d bring. As a breeder, you win some and you lose some, and when you lose them you’re glad if you lose to someone who is really nice, and a loyal client and a good trainer who will get the most out of the horse, because you’ll win the next time.
TWO-YEAR-OLD YEAR (2020)
Jack Darling: We send them to the Amish guys to break for the first month and get them back in December, so he was back in before I went to Arizona for the winter. I remember jogging him the first few times… he was perfectly mannered and I liked him. He only had one little quirk and that was getting on the trailer. Shipping him home from the sale, it took about eight of them to get him loaded, and shipping him to the Amish and back was tough too. Other than that he was perfect - there was never a thought about gelding him or anything.
John Mallia: He wasn’t like a great big, tall colt - he was the perfect size to me. Some of our yearlings have been huge over the years but he was just perfect. He was kind of quiet, which is good - some of them are screaming and hollering but he was just like, ‘Ya, do whatever you want’. He wasn’t studdy at all, which I love… he was always bully to walk, to walk out to the field; he’ll drag you. And he’s still like that now (laughing). That was my first recollection of him.
John Mallia: There’s ones that are smashing the gate and doing stupid stuff - you have to get them out first. You look at him, Christ, you gotta wake him up to get him outta the stall. And then you bring him back in [from the paddock] and you’ve got to wake him up to harness him. Then you put him away, after he jogs, and you’ve got to wake him up again. All he did was sleep - especially as a yearling and a two-year-old. It was always so funny because you actually had to wake him up three times a day - every day!
BULLDOG HANOVER AND JOHN MALLIA (Justin Fisher Photo)
John Mallia: We had a typical Sportswriter colt that year named Avion Seelster. He showed a ton of ability early… you could’ve gone 32 second quarters with him in January if you wanted. Bulldog was almost the opposite of that at first - he needed more time. He just needed more confidence. I remember changing his shoeing a bit, adding some weight on behind, and he clicked right in - instantly. That very day. Felix [Marion] put some egg-bars on him behind for me and he just started jogging faster than he had ever paced the right way [of the track]. They just gave him a little more weight and a little more support behind and he just clicked in… that was really early - in January.
John Mallia: I always like the ones that come around a bit more slowly like he did. We didn’t stake Bulldog to anything at two because the first few months he was a little bit behind where Avion was. I saw it as a blessing in disguise to be honest. Avion was a nice colt and he finished second in the Battle Of Waterloo… Bulldog had six starts as a two-year-old and to me that’s perfect. He started to get really good later on that summer, and all those other horses had been racing so hard throughout the year. Bulldog had a month off between some starts and he was fresh going into the Super Final… and you know what happened there.
Jack Darling: We always qualify them twice, and the first time I like them just to go to the back, get around the track and finish strong. The second time we can let them go a bit more. His first qualifier, he was at the back as planned and they really didn’t go anything up front… he just flew his last eighth and was very impressive, but he only went a mile in fifty-eight and change I believe. I can’t remember exactly why but we couldn’t get the second qualifier in, so I had to put him in to race [in an OSS Grassroots event] and he had to race against Lawless Shadow. Bulldog was right there finishing with him though, he only got beat half-a-length or something. That was the first time he really showed me that he might be a little special.
Jody Jamieson: I remember the first time that I ever sat behind him, in his first qualifier. He acted like a decent horse but… the first time I qualified Tell All I told Blair Burgess that we were going to win the North America Cup with this horse; obviously I was talking out my ass, but I was right (laughing). When I qualified Bulldog… he wasn’t like knock-your-socks-off first time.
Jody Jamieson: I would’ve beaten him [Lawless Shadow] in that first start too, but we just didn’t get out in time. Everyone knows Bulldog has amazing speed but he needs a few strides to get going… past the wire we blew right by Lawless Shadow.
Dr. Ian Moore: I definitely knew who he was that first time we raced against each other. I remembered him from the sale, and when we came north that spring and moved into Classy Lane we were stabled in the outdoor barn right beside Jack, so I was able to follow along with his progress.
Bob McClure: It’s funny to look back and see that Bulldog and Lawless Shadow came up against each other in their first starts, in a Grassroots event, and went on to be the O’Brien finalists that year. I beat him in that first one - at that time it just looked like Lawless was the better horse. I let Jody go and removed on him and he couldn’t quite get by me in the lane. They both looked like nice colts but it’s hard to judge two-year-olds that early. Put it this way; Jody booked off of Bulldog once after that and I booked off of Lawless in the Meadowlands Pace to stay and drive at Mohawk (laughing).
Dr. Ian Moore: Even though our colts were rivals I helped Jack and Johnny with a few little issues Bulldog had at two. It’s a situation that I’ve run into many times during my 41-years as a vet, working on horses of people that I’ve raced against. For me there’s never a conflict of interest because I’ve always acted in an ethical and honest manner and did my job professionally as a veterinarian… He was a tough colt… he worked through the issues that he had at two and I know that they never came back as a three or onwards; he overcame that.
Randy Waples: I remember qualifying him at Mohawk [10 days before his third start]. Jody wasn’t going with him for some reason so they asked me to qualify him. It was like driving one of those big muscle cars but the engine was too big for the car. He was a big rumbly colt but he had so much power… it was actually like driving a Volkswagen with a big V-12 engine in it. At that time the engine was still a bit too big for the body. They were happy with how I qualified him though and I think they listed me to drive him in his next start… I hurt my back after that though and couldn’t drive him that night. I think that’s the night Trevor Henry drove him.
Jody Jamieson: To be honest, the first time that I thought he was a great horse was when I watched Trevor Henry win a [OSS] Gold with him. I booked off him to drive a horse for another one of my main clients and my horse made a break. I watched Bulldog win the race and he looked like a million bucks… I thought I had lost the drive for sure and after the race Jack said to me, ‘Do you want to drive a good horse now or not?’ and I said ‘Absolutely’. I was as shocked as anybody but he knew he couldn’t keep Trevor because he had Desperate Man. I think he had won the other division with him that night as well. I was lucky to get Bulldog back. But I’m the guy that booked off Put On A Show in her two-year-old year too… I do it all the time (laughing).
Trevor Henry: I guess Jody booked off him so Randy qualified him, and then Randy booked off him for the race. I said it’s quite a deal, a horse like that and nobody wants to drive him. Now everybody wants to drive him (laughing). I just took him back - it was his first start in a Gold race. Jack didn’t say much; there wasn’t much to know about him. He had shown a little but he sure hadn’t shown what he turned out to be. I just took him to the back and then when I moved him halfway through the stretch he just jogged. Jack never asked me after but I think he had a pretty good idea that I’d be sticking with Desperate Man.
Dexter Dunn: I didn’t know much about him as a two-year-old but I do remember watching him win the sires stake final.
Brad Grant: I definitely watched him as a two-year-old and I texted a congratulations to Jack when he won the Super Final. I probably thought about picking up the phone and asking Jack if he was for sale back then but in the end I didn’t do it.
Jody Jamieson: His win the [OSS] Super Final, he was bionic.
Bob McClure: I wouldn’t say he removed on me [and Lawless Shadow] in the Super Final, he just moved Bulldog… he cleared on me down the backside and we didn’t see him again. I don’t think Jody even moved a muscle. That was a different horse than anybody had ever seen before… and the rest is history.
Jack Darling: I honestly thought, at the time, watching him, that his win in the OSS Super Final at two was the greatest race I’d ever seen a two-year-old go. He just drew away, with ease, from horses like Lawless Shadow and Desperate Man… I was awestruck.
(Justin Fisher Photo)
THREE-YEAR-OLD YEAR (2021)
Jack Darling: I was confident in paying him into the N.A. Cup that winter. He came back perfect and was doing everything right, but the pandemic hit and so I really didn’t stake him to anything in the States… I guess there were a few we paid him into at Hoosier at the end of the year.
Jack Darling: Right around the time he was ready to qualify, Luc Blais told me that his owner [Determination] was going to call me. I was kind of upset because I didn’t want to sell him but I thought he was going to offer me too much money and I was going to be forced to sell him. He did call and he made me an offer… it was a very nice offer but I thought that it wasn’t enough so I turned it down. He called me back two days later and upped the offer… he was very nice about it but it still wasn’t enough. About two days after that I got a text from Brad [Grant] saying he was going to call. I figured that I knew what it was about so I came up with a number [for half] in my head. He asked if I wanted to sell him and I said ‘no’, but asked if he would be interested in half the horse. He said ‘yes’ so I gave him the number. He thought about it for about two seconds and said ‘Jack, you’ve got a deal’. You know, he never even asked about soundness or if the horse had any problems… we’d had horses together in the past and he just trusted me and knew that if there were any issues that I would have been up-front with him.
Brad Grant: That’s the first time that I ever paid that much money for a horse without looking at it first or having it vetted out (laughing). It’s all about knowing the person… any deal we’ve done in the past has never taken more than a few minutes. As the old saying goes, I knew that Jack was never going to sell me a ‘pig in a poke’ (laughing). There was no thought of vetting the horse out. Jack did mention that Serge Godin had offered to buy the horse a few days earlier and all I can say about that is that I’m glad that didn’t work out (laughing).
Jody Jamieson: His second start as a three-year-old, we went parked-the-route from the 10-hole, challenged the leader around the last turn and drew off and won by a couple of lengths… I really knew then that he had come back good and that he was a great horse.
John Mallia: I remember watching Lawless Shadow win the Meadowlands Pace. We were in the paddock at Mohawk with Bulldog, and Jack and I just looked at each other and said ‘Bulldog is the best three-year-old in North America right now’. That’s when it hit me.
Dexter Dunn: I knew of him as a three-year-old for sure… I followed him in the North America Cup. I left out and crossed right over with Rockyroad Hanover and then followed Bulldog for the rest of the mile. He was favourite for the race too… he had been really impressive in the elimination. I cut it out in the elimination the week before, he was parked outside of us, first-over, and he crushed us anyway (laughing).
John Mallia: The first time I ever met Dex was right after we won our N.A. Cup elimination. He was the one that parked us the mile, with Rockyroad Hanover, and he was the first one to come up to me when we came back into the paddock from the winner’s circle. He came right over and congratulated me with a fist-bump and said ‘He was awesome’. I thought that was so cool of him. When we went to Flamboro as a four-year-old, for the Juravinski, he was there, and he came right over and asked how I, and how the horse was doing. He’s always seemed like a really great guy.
Jack Darling: Going into the N.A. Cup, people forget that he went a monster trip in the elimination. I’m not certain if he was parked the whole mile or not but he was first-over for a long, long way. It was so impressive but it wasn’t really the kind of trip you hope for going into the final. He seemed fine going into the final but it turned out to be the first time that he just didn’t have it. That shows the kind of horse he was though because on an off-night for him he still finished a close fourth in the North America Cup.
Trevor Henry: He [Bulldog] was definitely the one to beat [on N.A. Cup night] but it just turned out it wasn’t his night. Jody drove him the way he should’ve been driven but he just didn’t show up that night and we got lucky that ours did (laughing). At the half [with Bulldog on top in :55.1] I didn’t think I had any chance of catching him, but coming out of the last turn I noticed that he just wasn’t responding to Jody’s urging… I was getting such a good trip behind Perfect Sting, I knew that I had a good shot.
Jody Jamieson: That’s the only time he ever threw in a clunker in his life [the North America Cup]... I got him beat a few times but that was the only time he didn’t really perform. I didn’t think that there was a horse on the planet that could beat him at that time but it was just one of those things… like everybody says, they’re not cars, they’re animals… I’m still disappointed about that race.
John Mallia: I agree that it was the only clunker of his career [the N.A. Cup], and we’ll never know for sure, but I honestly believe that the race was just too easy… they gave it to him and the horse - not the driver - just fell asleep a little. After all of his tough miles we’d say ‘That’s the way the horse likes to race’. He’s a different horse; you can’t give him a nice trip; we tried. He doesn’t like it; he likes the action. That race at Mohawk when he was four, the last time Jody drove him… Jody just went three-wide around Allywag Hanover at the half and just flew by.. it was just history. I think that’s the way the horse wanted to race the whole time - and that’s the way we raced him everytime after. He didn’t want to be held back; he didn’t want to get a trip or follow horses or get a breather - he wants to roll. And we finally figured it out (laughing).
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I saw him race a few times at three… I owned part of Abuckabett [Hanover] and he raced against him at three. I may have been a bit biased because of the Hanover thing but I think I appreciated him more as a two and three-year-old than the general public. Not in my wildest dreams did I think he’d retire as the fastest harness horse of all-time but it wasn’t a complete shock to me either.
Adam Bowden: North America Cup eliminations was the first time that I took notice of him… it was the weird year with Covid where they moved the race to the fall from the June spot. He was just so good in the eliminations that I thought I should keep an eye on a horse like that… just the acceleration, I was like, ‘Whoa’... I’m putting that into the memory bank. The final went how it went and the season went on, and then I saw that Jack sent him down to Hoosier. He popped off a few big miles in a row there and it made me take notice again.
Jack Darling: He really did have a good three-year-old year. Even in the [OSS] Super Final he was a good second… the race just didn’t set up that well for him. Then after that he went to Indiana and was just dominant winning four in a row.
John DeLong: I was looking at horses at the Indiana Yearling Sale and my phone rang. It was Jack Darling - he said he was sending a horse down to Hoosier for three or four starts and asked if I wanted to drive him. He said it was Bulldog Hanover and I said ‘Of course, I’d love to’. I knew who he was from the North America Cup… I knew he was a nice horse but after that first night I drove him I was in total awe. It was pouring rain and he just jogged in 1:48 flat (laughing). I came back to the winner’s circle, I mean I didn’t even know these people, and I just said ‘What planet is this horse from?’
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: We sold his sister, Buttercup [Hanover] to Jack in Harrisburg, at the end of his three-year-old year, for $25,000, and I was thinking ‘Is anyone out there even paying attention?’ That proves to me even more that at the end of his three-year-old year people underappreciated him. She was a beautiful Betting Line filly that you could buy and breed to Shadow Play if you wanted to. Jack knew what he had in the barn and he bought her and eventually sold her as a broodmare for a lot of money. That was a very astute move on his part.
(Michelle Hogan Photo)
FIRST YEAR AT STUD (WINTER OF 2022)
Jack Darling: I liked the horse so much and really just wanted to see him get a chance as a stud, that I just called Ann [Straatman] at Seelster to see if she was interested, even just for a limited book. The plan was always to still train and race him at four and Ann and everyone at Seelster were quite enthusiastic about standing him there.
Ann Straatman: Jack called me late on a Friday afternoon and asked if we had any interest in standing Bulldog while he continued to train and race in 2022. We were, of course, interested and once we had secured a method to facilitate training and racing while breeding, we were all in! Seelster was very happy to support him in his first year with 10 of their own good mares, including the dams of Stockade Seelster and Poseidon Seelster.
John Mallia: I’d take him to Rob at Deerpath [to get collected] three times a week and he wanted me there right at 7:45am everytime. And everytime we went it seemed that there was either a blizzard or it was pouring rain - it was always the worst weather. We’d unload him by the main barn but then he’d have to take him around back and down this hill to the actual breeding shed. I’d unload him and just hand him over there. But once he figured out where we were going and what he was about to do, it was like having a rhinoceros on the trailer (laughing). Rob’s a big guy but his eyes would be bugging out of his head like this horse is insane. I know the horse, but it was like, scary, to get him off. He’s kicking and striking because he knows what’s going to happen. I’d give him to Rob and Bulldog would be spinning around and bouncing, and Rob’s about three times the size of me but a few times he was like, ‘How do you hold onto this horse? YOU handle this horse?’ I just said, ‘Ya, tell me about it!’ (laughing). It was interesting to watch the whole process but it was a lot of work too.
Jack Darling: I don’t think that the breeding [last winter] really changed him. It was handy that they collected him [his semen] at Deerpath three times a week, just around the corner from Classy Lane. Johnny [Mallia] would just load him up… it would take about half-an-hour by the time he took him over, he did his thing, and they got back. On those days he’d just jog and we’d train him on the other days.
FOUR-YEAR-OLD YEAR (2022)
Jack Darling: We qualified him twice at Flamboro but he never did love the turns there. He’s such a big-going horse… even when he won his [Juravinski] elimination and went in [1]:49.3 he was all over the place going around that first turn. In the final he got a tough trip and really didn’t get around the turns well… he was so stressed when he came off the track. Just the fact that he still finished fourth shows what a great horse he is. He’s the toughest horse I’ve ever seen.
Jody Jamieson: The first week at Flamboro [in the Juravinski] we were able to get to the front fairly easily and he just rolled along and won in [1]:49.3 like the monster that he is. In the final I eased him out of there and then went to move him. When we hit the second turn, going fast, I almost lost him. I had to grab him up and we ended up being out-the-route - and he still finished fourth! I’m telling you, any other horse in history, in my opinion, would have backed up much worse around that last turn… and he didn’t. When we came in, there was literally blood on his front hopple burns, he was filling his hopples that much. He’s just a killer, a friggin’ killer. He’s the best horse I ever drove. Obviously he’s the fastest - he won in [1]:45 - but even before he did that I knew he was the best horse I’ve ever driven.
Jody Jamieson: The track wasn’t really great that day [on June 11th when he beat Allywag Hanover by five lengths at Mohawk in 1:48.2]. It was a little chilly out and the track wasn’t real conducive to speed that night, and he was just gone in [1]:48.2. That was the last time that I ever drove him other than in qualifiers.
Jack Darling: I sent a horse named Carnivore to Noel [Daley] a few years back, and that’s how I really got to know him. The plan was always to send him to Noel for that month because I just couldn’t afford to lose Johnny [Mallia] from the barn at home. It was tough just watching him race on TV for those starts but it worked out good.
Noel Daley: I’ll be honest with ya, I didn’t really know who Bulldog was. I’m in my own little zone… I don’t really pay attention to a lot of those things if I’m not racing one in those classes. I do remember the run, the elimination of the North America [Cup]. I remember that run, I thought holy-hell that horse just destroyed them (laughing). I hadn’t really followed anything else but I was up there in the paddock with Pebble Beach this year and Jack asked if he could send him down to me in July. It was about as easy as that.
Dexter Dunn: Noel was the one that called me… he said that he was getting him [Bulldog] to train and he wanted to give me a shot driving him. I think that Jack had asked Noel to ask me.
Jody Jamieson: It’s a tough game. I’ve been in the position, earlier in my career, where I was the guy that was getting those drives and people were losing them - to me. It does suck… at the time, I asked Jack point-blank if I was going to be driving him in the States, and he said, ‘No, we’re going to use Dexter’. He didn’t beat around the bush… I said ‘If you need anything let me know’. It’s bittersweet and it was disappointing. I would have loved to have raced him but at the end of the day… Dexter only lost with him once. It’s pretty hard to say, for anybody, even myself, ‘There, you should’ve used me, I wouldn’t have lost that race’. That’s not the truth. You know, it is what it is. It’s a tough game.
Dexter Dunn: I think he only got to Noel’s two or three days before that first race… I think that Noel only jogged him once. I didn’t know much about him, I hadn’t talked to Jack about him, it was pretty much an ‘Away ya go’ really. Obviously we knew he was a very nice horse - he was awesome in his race before that. He came first-over on Allywag Hanover and just annihilated him so we were obviously both full of confidence even though we didn’t know a hell of a lot about him. He came home in :24.4 for me that first night and was strong doing it… just that raw power was so impressive. It really was a good feeling.
Noel Daley: We only had him 48 hours before that first start, nearly to the minute. He got to my barn at 10 o’clock on the Thursday night because he had been an asshole to load I guess. Jack said it took him an hour to load but from what I heard after it was a little more than an hour (laughing). We didn’t really know anything about him.
Sonja Booth: He was extremely aware of how good he was. His presence… he was extremely intelligent and he knew he was a good horse. It was amazing, when you took him to the paddock and started to harness him it was like he went into his own zone. Like he was actually concentrating on his performance. Once you put his harness on and his bridle he’d just stand like a statue so we’d just let him be. To me it was almost like he was calculating what he was about to do… he did that every time we brought him to the races.
Jack Darling: I believe that Diamond Creek got in the week before the [1]:45 mile. They bought 25% of him but just for after his racing career ended. Brad and I each sold them equal amounts and still own 75% of him together.
Adam Bowden: I never saw him in-person until the night he set the world record at The Meadowlands. That week, Shaun [Laungani] and I were sitting around the office talking about, like we always do weekly, who is the next good horse, stallion-wise… It was a Tuesday or Wednesday I think - you could kind of feel the momentum building as he [Bulldog] had put together a couple of wins in a row that were other-worldly. I remember, we got on the phone with Brad [Grant]... everything happened so quick. We got Jack on the phone and we agreed to purchase 25% of the horse and be the syndicate manager… We knew that they had a three or four year deal with Seelster and that was fine. Brad and Jack were like, ‘Get us the money by Friday and 25% is yours’ and I was like ‘Oh shit’. I had either 24 or 48 hours - I can’t remember what day it was - we ended up moving some money around quickly and wired them the money, and then we flew off to The Meadowlands to watch. We were obviously just mesmerized by his performance there and for the rest of the year. We didn’t even ask if there were any lameness issues or anything, it didn’t even seem relevant at the time. This horse was an absolute freak and if he had any issues at the time he was totally winning with them. It was like ‘I want to be on-board and I want to be on-board now’. It was all verbal and then just an email. It all happened in an afternoon… You could feel the energy and excitement around the horse. He was trending towards putting in the mile that he did in the Haughton. I wanted it to be done before that because I didn’t want to be paying any more than I was paying already (laughing).
Noel Daley: It was literally only 23 days that we had him because after that last start we helped load him onto one of [Mark] Ford’s rigs because he was going home. For us, when it came to loading him, he wasn’t too bad at first but he progressively got worse. After the third time [we raced him]... by the time he got out of the spit-box [test barn] and Sonja and Laura… basically the guards at The Meadowlands said ‘Can you just lock the gate behind you when you leave?’ because they were over two hours in the car-park and couldn’t get him on (laughing). To go to that final race for him, we had to have him there by 12 o’clock [for retention] so we thought we’d give ourselves 2 ½ hours in case. He wouldn’t get on and wouldn’t get on, but then he got on… but before Sonja could get out and close the back he pulled back, broke his halter and got off. Jack had told us to just have one person load him, that if more people than that were around he’d never get on, so we’re all out doing our own stuff and here he is out walking around loose on the grass… poor Sonja. None of us were there paying attention because we were told not to (laughing). She cornered him and got another halter on him and eventually got him loaded. That was the day of the [1]:45 mile… I don’t think that Jack ever knew that happened but I’m pretty sure we sent him home with a different halter on (laughing)... at least he didn’t take off running! Here’s a stud who had been breeding… good thing he wasn’t an asshole though. Jack was on a need-to-know-basis on that one and he didn’t need to know (laughing).
Dexter Dunn: I didn’t even know he had lost it [a front shoe] in the [1]:45.4 race. I think he lost it in the first turn, but it must have flicked out sideways because usually you hear it kick back otherwise. I noticed it was missing when I was pulling him up but it sure didn’t bother him.
(L-R) NOEL DALEY, SONJA BOOTH, BULLDOG & DEXTER, WITH THEIR NEW WORLD RECORD VISIBLE ON THE TELETIMER IN THE BACKGROUND (Lisa Photo)
Sonja Booth: I think that Jack eventually got the shoe back. Nobody found it that night but Noel called someone he knew on the track crew and I believe that they found it and sent it back to us. I think that Noel took it to The Meadows and gave it to Brent MacGrath on Adios Day and then Brent eventually got it back to Jack. I’m pretty sure it’s hanging on someone’s wall right now.
John Mallia: I watched the big race [world record mile] at Mohawk. It was nerve-wracking, watching and not being there. I enjoyed it but I really wanted to just be there. It was funny but during the day when he’d race I’d be looking at my watch saying, ‘I guess they’re probably getting ready to go there… I guess he’s gonna warm up now’. Things like that as the night wore on. Almost like I’d be planning, expecting to be the one doing it even though I wasn’t. It was a really weird feeling.
Sonja Booth: I just knew he was going to break the world record in the Haughton that night. That entire day was so nerve-wracking… with the issue we had loading him… I was full of anxiety the entire day. But I told ‘The Dog’ before he went out to go and break that record - that he had already tied it and now he should break it. When they were on the track it felt like it could start raining any minute and [Brett] Pelling walked up beside me and said that the conditions were perfect. It was weird, because after that race he left… We loaded him up and he headed back. It was sad, but I felt a happy relief too. I was so happy with how he raced for us but I was also relieved that we didn’t screw him up and that we were sending him back sound and in good shape.
Dexter Dunn: I think it was in all four starts [at The Meadowlands in June and July] that I couldn’t get him pulled up. It was down to the half-mile, down the back straight before I could get him stopped. It wasn’t like he was an asshole, it just took a long time for him to start slowing down because he had such a powerful gait. Even before the start of a race you had to start slowing him down about a half-mile before you got around to the starting point because it took a while to slow him down. It wasn’t attitude, it was just him I think. Usually it’s the bad ones that do that… they won’t go forward for you in the race but then when you go to pull them up they won’t stop (laughing).
Noel Daley: People asked me what we did with him… all we did was stay out of his way. He’d race Saturday, he’d have Sunday off, we’d jog him Monday and Tuesday, train him one trip in [2]:20 on Wednesday, give him Thursday off, jog him Friday and race him again on Saturday. He had his end stall and he liked his routine with a little paddock-time every morning.. He was good-to-go when we got him. The most incredible thing to me wasn’t what he did in any one start, it’s what he did in all four starts in such a short period of time. I’ve never seen a horse put together a 22-day streak like he had… and every start Dexter had more trouble pulling him up. Now Dexter only weighs about 100 pounds (laughing)... but he wasn’t even getting tired. It was a lot of fun for all of us.
Adam Bowden: We were racing some older horses [in 2022] in Allywag [Hanover] and Tattoo [Artist], and the staking in Allywag got screwed up… in hindsight that may have been the best thing that ever happened to the horse long-term. The horses that had to go up against Bulldog all year got their hearts ripped right out of their chests. Allywag only had to do it a handful of times, one time with great success.
John Mallia: His last race at Hoosier, they kinda hung him out a little bit. He got roughed up past the quarter in some fast fractions [:25.3 :53.2] and he just flew to the top from there and cruised home… I think he broke the track record by a second or something. We came back to the winner’s circle and I said to Dexter, ‘He likes to be roughed up’. He said ‘You got that right, he likes it’.
Adam Bowden: I knew we [Allywag] were going to beat him in Lexington… Pelling was so confident coming into the race, we drew inside of him… everything just lined up for us to beat him that day. All the Bulldog connections were talking about was the world record… you want to win the race first and worry about the world record later… I knew at the top of the stretch that we were winning, and I had gotten up from my seat and I was running down and screaming and carrying on like a complete fool. And I don’t know why because I really own just as much of Bulldog as I do of Allywag (laughing). And one had a stallion deal and one didn’t (laughing). Bulldog’s legacy was cemented at that point though. A loss to Allywag in [1]:46 - that’s not diminishing or tarnishing his legacy whatsoever… The entire world was there to watch history though and we were the bearer of bad news.
(New Image Media Photo)
Jack Darling: The two races that I thought were his best were the second race at Hoosier, when he set the track record… the way he just opened on them was just fantastic… and then the race at Dayton where he was parked the whole way from the eight-hole and just drew off on them. But the crowd at Dayton… I’ve never seen anything like it, they were like 20-deep all down the stretch and they were all there to see him. It was almost just like they opened up the floodgates in the paddock too because everybody came in to see him. There was a steady stream of people coming by all night to see him and get their picture taken with him, right in the paddock. Such fans down there - they were all there to see Bulldog Hanover. They knew that horse, they had seen all of his races and just wanted to get close to him. That was the night that really stands out to me - because of the fans.
Dexter Dunn: Setting the world record was amazing. The feeling that came through my body when I saw that [1]:45.4 flash up was special… I mean, to drive the fastest horse in the history of harness racing was very cool. The mile at Hoosier was unbelievable, ya know, when I asked him to go at the top of the straight he was awesome that day… I didn’t even turn the stick. The other one was the Breeders Crown, afterwards, the amount of people that were out there. It felt like 15 minutes that we were getting photos taken and he just stood there perfect the whole time.
Ann Straatman: I thought the Dayton Pacing Derby was remarkable. Just when you thought he would be hard pressed to dazzle us again; he seemed to walk around and away from the very best competitors, three-wide in the last turn and down the stretch. Simply amazing, having never seen a pylon the entire race.
Brad Grant: There almost isn’t just one event with him… I mean his four races in 22 days at The Meadowlands - tying the track record, breaking the track record, setting the world record - those are highlights. And his race in Dayton was an amazing race, to be parked all the way out of the 8-hole, on a bad track, and then go three-wide and just drive away… those are two big highlights for me. Missing out on the North America Cup was obviously... That was actually the only time in my life that I walked into the racetrack thinking ‘I’m going to win this race’.
(Michael Burns Photo)
Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky: I’m glad that I got to see him live, in his last race at Mohawk, when he won the Breeders Crown, because that was pretty special. I never made it to the paddock. I actually haven’t been up-close-and-personal with him since the day he sold as a yearling but I have some trips to make to Ontario this year and I do hope that I can stop at Seelster and visit with him.
Brad Grant: At one point he won a bunch of races in a row (as a four-year-old] before I’d go and watch him. I was superstitious about it, but finally the night of the Canadian Pacing Derby we went. We went and saw him in the paddock and everything - I figured if we went we may as well go in with both feet (laughing)... we went in for the whole nine yards and he won. It all worked out so I felt better. We went to all the rest of his starts after that.
BULLDOG'S FINAL START (Photo Courtesy of The Meadowlands)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Dexter Dunn: It was really a pleasure. Jack’s so cool, ya know, and Johnny [Mallia] was great… you couldn’t have a better guy hooking you up; he’s checking you up and tells you a joke or you’re walking up on the track and he’d tell me something funny that’s not even horse-related and we’d have a good laugh. Ya know, with a horse like that and the season we had… Jack never gave me any driving instructions or anything like that, he’d just say ‘Good luck’. From their side of it they put no pressure on me… it really was a true pleasure to work with those guys.
Sonja Booth: The word I’d use to describe him is omnipotent [means ‘having unlimited power; able to do anything’]. He was just different than any other horse. There was a piece of tape outside of his stall that said ‘Bulldog’. After he left I didn’t take the tape down, I just added two words to it - now it says ‘Bulldog was here’.
Felix Marion: When you’d walk him from the barn to my shop, or back again, he’d always walk like a big boy - with his head right up in the air, like he knew he was good. But he always did it with respect too. He’d prance a bit… you could always tell the power that you had on the end of that shank, but you could easily talk him out of it too, because he always had manners - he was classy. That horse always stood up straight, with his shoulders locked in and his head high in the air… very proudly, like he was posing.
(Sonja Booth Photo)
Dr. Ian Moore: We had to race against Bulldog at two-and-three with Lawless Shadow and against him at four with Tattoo Artist, but I can honestly say that any time a Shadow Play horse does well my partners and I are happy. Because we own the sire it’s a no-lose situation for us. Jack Darling has been a big supporter of Shadow Play - both breeding his mares and buying his yearlings - and I’m glad that over time the stallion has rewarded him for that… with Bulldog especially.
Jack Darling: We’ve got another three-year contract to stand him at Seelster… he’s going to be syndicated but Brad and I will always have the majority ownership of him. At this point I really see no reason why he’d ever leave Seelster. The Diamond Creek people have been great and they seem quite happy with the arrangement… They have a lot of confidence in Bulldog and are breeding a bunch of mares to him.
Adam Bowden: Seelster did the syndication… it was just easier. The horse is going to be at Seelster and Brad and Jack trust Ann [Straatman] and her team… it only made sense. We just converted our ownership shares in the horse and it’s been good. We’re selling some shares, we’re breeding some mares, we’re trading some shares. We’re doing whatever we can to help make the horse a successful stallion. From what we’ve been told by Ann there’s been plenty of interest from American breeders both buying shares or just breeding mares. We learned this from Downbytheseaside - it doesn’t matter where good horses stand… if there’s a good program there and people have access to them, they’re going to breed… I think it’s cool.. by standing him there [in Ontario] it opens him up to the whole industry in a way rather than pigeon-holing him in Pennsylvania or something. We don’t do a lot of breeding in Ontario… this provides us with a little more access to Canada and we’ve ended up breeding more mares to Canadian horses because of that. It opens a door for us that didn’t really exist before.
Ann Straatman: Bulldog has settled into a more relaxed day-to-day here at Seelster. He loves routine and is happy to show his discontent if things disrupt that schedule. He’s respectful and very intelligent. He likes his new caretaker, Joanne McInnis, and she dotes on him, making sure all of his needs are tended to, as she does with all of the Seelster stallions. We are looking forward to a busy breeding season with him. He has outstanding support from all over Canada and the United States and has secured a world class book of mares for 2023.
Brad Grant: Adam and Shaun [Diamond Creek] were great to work with [when they bought in] and we got a deal done… I think I’m breeding five or six of my own mares to him this year and obviously I’ll be watching to see what his foals look like and we’ll go from there… I do know that those that bred to him last year got a great deal.
Jody Jamieson: I’ve driven a few good horses that went to stud, that didn’t turn out how I thought they would have, but I really believe that Bulldog is the next-coming of a great sire. If he throws anything like himself… you know he must have abnormal-sized lungs, and his athletic ability… If he throws any of that to his offspring he’ll definitely be a great sire.
John Mallia: I liked when we dropped him off at Seelster. They’re so classy. The girls that run that place are so good with horses it’s unbelievable. Ann [Straatman] was taking pictures of me unloading him and the entire farm, everyone that works there, came out to see him. They all wanted to see him up close. When we were leaving Ann said, ‘You know, you can come by and see him anytime. Just come in; you don’t need to call; just come on in - he’s your horse’. When you hand him off it’s like it’s over, so her saying that meant a lot to me. I miss him.
Jack Darling: When Johnny and I took him to Seelster and dropped him off, I was just totally at peace. I was just happy that he was walking into that barn… he hadn’t been hurt, no surgeries, his legs were all like ivory. He was just going off to a perfect life at stud. I was just at peace with it.
ARRIVING FOR STUD DUTY AT SEELSTER FARMS (Ann Straatman Photo)
This feature originally appeared in the February issue of TROT Magazine. Subscribe to TROT today by clicking the banner below.
