Was Switch born to trot?

by Melissa Keith

In baby race 12 at Woodbine Mohawk Park’s June 21 “rookie showcase” for 2-year-old trotters and pacers, a quiet buzz surrounded a gelding who wasn’t fully either.

Switch, a pacing-bred son of Cattlewash—Party In Rome, finished second to winner Classified in a qualifier with seven trotters, two of whom made breaks. Individually timed in 2:00.4, Switch closed in :29.1 for driver Trevor Henry, holding off Felix Hanover down the stretch.

Originally named Roman Home, the aptly-renamed Switch made his pari-mutuel debut Tuesday (July 1) at Mohawk. In line to Travis Henry in an event for 2-year-old non-winners of a race or $8,000 lifetime, the gelding finished third to Green Manalishi S filly Calgary Morning. He trotted a personal 1:59 flat mile without trotting hobbles or miscues. It was becoming clear that the Terry Gallant trainee was all trot, despite his pacing pedigree and the misgivings of early spectators.

But where did it come from?

“Bill Manes raised him; he owns the mare,” said Gallant, pointing out that both Switch and dam Party In Rome are owned by a partnership consisting of Rockwood, ON resident Manes, William Cripps of Acton, ON, and Steven Papillon of Rockwood, ON. The trainer added that doesn’t share ownership with them.

“I’m not lucky enough,” he said.

Gallant told HRU that he usually works with young horses owned by Manes, which led to him breaking and training Switch.

“He’s a homebred,” said Gallant. “I just brought him in from the field after the London Sale… He came in from the field at the end of October-first of November, after being out as a baby. He was out at the [former] Warrawee Farms; a new owner runs it now [as Everton Farms Equine], Sarah Roberts from Guelph. Bill has maybe five broodmares over there.”

The former Summerside, PEI horseman told HRU that Switch was the unlikely fulfillment of a longstanding hope.

“Bill owns Il Sogno Dream [4, 1:50.2m; $1,128,533], and he’s standing in Ohio now,” said Gallant. “I begged him for years to let me train a trotter, one of his babies.”

Then Switch came along.

“He wasn’t nice to break,” said Gallant. “There was nothing nice about him! I had to tranquilize him. I had to twitch him. I had to practically hog-tie him just to get the harness on him… In my younger years, it wouldn’t have worked, but I have more patience than any horse now.”

Gallant added that he never abused or hurt Switch, and that the measures were taken to protect the temperamental colt and those around him.

“I put the harness on and left him in the stall,” said Gallant. “I told him, ‘When you stop being an idiot, then we’ll go.’ He’s always had a mind of his own and done whatever he wanted.”

What about gelding Switch?

“That was the next stage,” the trainer said.

First, Gallant got to know him a little better. When Switch was initially brought in for early lessons, “one part of his foot was worn off from running in the field.”

Gallant said, “I told Bill. He said, ‘Just jog him, that’s all. He’ll just be a little behind everyone else for a while.’”

Farrier Larry Small worked on the colt’s feet with guidance from Gallant.

“I’m not telling them, I’m talking to them,” said the trainer.

It helped that Small has a background as a trainer and driver, allowing him to assist by sitting behind Switch as Gallant observed.

“I have great help,” said Gallant. “He’s had some good trotters himself. He’s the only one who’s sat in a jog cart behind him, besides Trevor and Travis Henry. [Small] loved [Switch] all the way through.”

Once Switch hit the training track, he made it clear that anything but trotting was not an option.

“He’s alert,” said Gallant. “When he learns something once, he’ll never forget. When I broke him and put him in the jog cart, he never paced a step in his life, I swear on my mom’s arm.”

The Rockwood, ON trainer said he also wanted to make sure that Switch wasn’t one-dimensional on the racetrack.

“I was so scared to train him down… Trevor Henry knows that I learn them how to leave when I train them down,” said Gallant. “I told Trevor not to leave with him or he’ll want to do that the rest of his life… He’s so smart, it’s unreal.”

Gallant had firsthand experience with Party In Rome (p, 3, 1:52s; $191,035) and her other offspring, none of whom showed interest in trotting.

“I had every foal out of the mare,” he said. “I sold one to Ron Burke, a half-sister [Third Time Lucky (p, 4, 1:53.4f; $48,040), by Bettors Delight], and I still have [Sportswriter gelding] Roman Gladiator [p, 3, 1:57.3s; $9,433].” The latter took his mark at Mohawk on March 1, before being scratched sick March 15 and encountering interference twice in his comeback efforts.

Meanwhile, Switch was showing promise on the trot.

“He was only in 2:05 before the [June 21] baby race, and I asked Trevor [Henry] not to break two minutes,” said Gallant, a longtime friend of the Arthur, ON driver. “Every time he’s raced, he’s dropped a little bit more.”

Switch has attracted curiosity because of the gait he seemingly chose for himself.

“He’s never paced or run a step in his life. He’ll kick the jog cart and he won’t run. He’s right back trotting,” said Gallant, adding with a laugh that the gelding “ain’t never going to be double-gaited or bisexual or whatever you want to call them.”

Looking into the tail female line of Switch, which originates from foundation mare Medio, might provide more insight into where the pacing-bred trotter got his gait. His dam Party In Rome is out of Davincis Choice, maternal granddaughter of the Dan Patch 1985 3-Year-Old Filly Pacer of the Year Steinam (p, 3, 1:53.4m; $1,355,474). Steinam’s maternal great-grand-dam is Beppy Hanover (p, 3, 2:05.2h; $25,717), a daughter of trotter Bertha Hanover (3, 2:08 ¾m).

It’s Beppy Hanover’s maternal grand-dam who raises intrigue about Switch’s potential: Miss Bertha C (3, 2:10 ¼m) produced 1966 Hall of Fame inductee Miss Bertha Dillion, dam of 1930 Hambletonian champion Hanovers Bertha (3, TT1:59 ½m; $71,779), who was also inducted into Goshen, NY’s Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 1957. Hanovers Bertha became the first Hambletonian winner, stallion or mare, to produce a Hambletonian-winning foal: Her daughter Shirley Hanover won the 1937 edition.

Curiously, Hanovers Bertha also produced two double-gaited sons: Edgar Hanover (p, TT2:00 1/4 m; $18,547; 2:09m; $1,857) by trotter Calumet Chuck, and Sparkle Hanover (p, 2:04h, $21,474; 3,2:03 ½m, $9,805) by trotter Mr McElwyn.

Bertha Hanover, half sister to Hanovers Bertha, produced one trotter and one double-gaited horse from 10 foals who raced. The rest were pacers. Bertha Hanover is Switch’s tail female great-great-great-great-great-great-grand-dam.

As Switch trained down, he attracted attention and skepticism for his incongruous gait. On Wednesday (July 2), Gallant told HRU that Ontario Sires Stakes Gold is next on the agenda for the 2-year-old gelding. Gold leg #1 is slated for July 12 at Mohawk.

True to his name, there’s been a Switch in how the trotter and his trainer are being looked at now.

“Good trainers were laughing at me,” said Gallant. “Then six or eight weeks ago, they were high-fiving me when I walked out the [paddock] door.”