by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — The last time his homebred rose from the non-winners class to a victory in an Open, Rick Copp was unable to even watch his mare compete, but this time around after a similar ascension through the class ranks at Balmoral Park, he has savored every minute of Cadie’s Gotta Gun’s rise to the top.

“When Cadie did the same thing two years ago out at the Meadows, I couldn’t watch her because I just had open heart surgery,” explained the Hillsdale, Mich., resident, who has been involved in the sport for more than three decades. “My doctors and wife wouldn’t let me watch her race because my blood pressure and heart rate would go through the ceiling, so I had to watch them a day late and a dollar short. This year I’ve been able to watch every race and it gives you a lot of satisfaction when you see the end result to what you do. I’ve had a lot of defeats, but when you have the thrill of victory it’s even more bittersweet when they are your own. She’s the best I’ve ever had.”

Balmoral Park photo

Rick Copp’s homebred, Cadie’s Gotta Gun, recently went over the $300,000 plateau in career earnings.

The daughter of Gunthatwonthewest and Timeless Cadie, who are also owned by Copp, holds a lifetime mark of 1:51.4 and has earned $301,191 from 161 trips to the post. The 7-year-old has raced primarily on the Chicago, Pennsylvania and Indiana circuits, while compiling a 24-21-30 record and never failing to earn at least $20,000 in each season of her six-year career.

“I’m a little fish in a big, big pond, but she is a beautiful mare and I can assure you she has been my warhorse,” Copp said. “I have a passion for the horse industry and I love breeding them, raising them, putting the harness on them and seeing how they become their own individual racehorses. That’s what it is all about and there is no greater satisfaction then seeing that happen with Cadie.”

About eight years ago, Copp purchased Gunthatwonthewest, a son of Cam’s Card Shark that finished second in the 2001 Matron Stakes at Dover Downs, third in the 2001 Progress Pace and third in the 2001 Burlington Pace en route to a season that saw him earn nearly $500,000 for Jeff Snyder and Bob Unice. The stallion now stands at Ivy Lane Farm in Goshen, Indiana, and in Copp’s opinion, it was a coup to purchase a horse with his genetic composition.

“He was out East with Brett Pelling,” Copp recalled. “I’m an in-line breeding fanatic and to me the Cam Fella over Abercrombie mares seems to be a golden cross. I think of the top 10 horses of Gun’s that have raced, five of them are out of Abercrombie mares, so it reaffirms my thinking. I’m old school and with that cross you just can’t go wrong.

“Cadie has two full brothers that are following her in the Indiana program, which I am committed to, as I love its integrity and the people treat you so well it’s a pleasure to race there,” he continued. “The 3-year-old is I Shot The Sheriff, which I have high hopes for, and a 2-year-old named Gun’s Bountyhunter. I have six broodmares and usually sell a couple at the Indiana Sale in October then keep three or four. I try to get new blood in the business by partnering up with some different people.”

Even before Cadie’s Gotta Gun placed a hoof on the track Copp took great pride in her.

“The day she hit the ground she looked like a raccoon because of the gray circles around her eyes,” he said. “She was turned out in the field and from Day One she has been a pleasure to be around. She’s had three or four trainers over the years, she is currently trained by Jackie Ricks, who has done a tremendous job, and they have absolutely loved her. She is a low maintenance horse, who loves to race and is a Cadillac to drive. Eric Carlson drove her in Michigan and we got him aboard her again out in Chicago. He really knows how to keep her live. She loves the mile track, can sit and when they tip her out she has the afterburners like her daddy to get on top and hold them off. In the last three years, she has taken new lifetime marks at three different racetracks so she can go about anywhere and race.

“I’ve never had a mare pace in (1):51 and a piece or that won $100,000 and she’s made $300,000,” Copp continued. “Her mother, who will probably drop another Gun foal this week, but whose first foal, Scoot N Time, who is an I Scoot Hanover, took a mark of 1:53, made more than $150,000 and is still racing out East. I am putting a lot of faith in my 3-year-old, I Shot The Sheriff, and I hope we have Cadie prepared for when Hoosier starts to see if we can get in the Opens. It definitely is a tough, tough business, but I love being able to own the whole family.”

Since Cadie’s Gotta Gun shows no signs of shortening her stride, Copp plans to postpone the second phase of her career.

“I keep saying how I would love to breed her,” he said. “In fact I was going to breed her this year, but she started out so well and Jackie thinks she is going to make a lot of money this year. She has a home for life at my farm in Michigan and when I do breed her, I probably already know which stud it will be. Cadie has a full sister, Cadie’s Sure Shot, that had a training accident as a 2-year-old and never raced. I bred her to Palone Ranger and she has an outstanding yearling colt. I like the Western Ideal in him and after seeing a number of his foals, love them. I would probably take the Western Ideal and mix that with Cadie also. I know I’m just a small time breeder, but she really is the best I’ve ever had.”