From blacksmith to trainer, Ross forges quite a career path

Trainer Brad Ross was "horse crazy" all the way back to his days as a youth.

The 66-year-old Naperville Central graduate recalled when he used to head to the riding farm after school.

"I'd bring my riding clothes to school and the other kids always knew I was on the bus," he said. "There were a lot of laughs about me smelling like a horse."

On Saturday, he hopes longshot bettors can have a few laughs.

Ross is saddling Oh So Terrible, a good bet to be an extreme outsider on the odds board (30-1 in the morning line) for the 30th running of the Grade I $400,000 Beverly D. at Arlington Park.

The 5-year-old Irish-bred mare went off at 96-1 in the Beverly D. last year and ran eighth. She placed 5½ lengths behind Sister Charlie, the 8-5 morningline favorite Saturday who appears to be returning in top form for nationally-acclaimed trainer Chad Brown.

"Sister Charlie is certainly the one to beat," said Ross, who has beaten the odds just to be a Grade I stakes-winning trainer after working as a blacksmith for 33 years. "But you never know. He (Brown) could have a bad day, too. But Chad Brown doesn't seem to have too many bad days. I don't expect his horses to run poorly, but we're going to give it a shot."

Last year Brown had the top two finishers in the Arlington Million, the winner in the Beverly D. and runner-up n the Secretariat, which also is run Saturday as part of the International Festival of Racing.

For Ross, just being a part of the showcase event, is a thrill in itself.

"It's amazing," he said of the opportunity. "It's like a miracle that I've been blessed this way. You've got to keep swinging and see what happens."

Ross has trained only three horses since 2005, winning five races (two with Argentine-bred Miss Terrible, the mother of Oh So Terrible) and three with Oh So Terrible. His other runner is Capernaun, a lightly raced 3 year-old colt who is winless in a turf and dirt start.

"I always liked to be a trouble shooter," Ross said. "I wanted to do it all with horses. I've worked with harness horses, dressage and others. I was an apprentice blacksmith for 10 years and then did it full time.

"I liked being called in to help horses when I was a blacksmith. I had a guy at Maywood Park who needed help with his horse who was having all kinds of trouble. We worked on him for eight days and ended up beating one of the top horses in the nation."

Now as a trainer Ross would love to beat some of the top fillies and mares in the nation and the world.

"He (Ross) is a terrific story and you see it in horse racing once in awhile," said Howard Sudberry, senior director of marketing and communications at Arlington Park. "You have people on the backstretch working in all kinds of jobs, and they are accumulating knowledge. They are learning how to handle them and train them.

"Then all of a sudden, they become as assistant trainer and work their way up. Then they go out on their own. They get a horse and all of sudden they're in the Beverly D."

Oh So Terrible was in a $50,000 allowance race June 9 at Arlington, winning by a head going a mile on the turf. She then was sixth, 5 lengths back of Juliet Foxtrot in the Grade III Modesty on July 13.

"She has been training well - I want to give her a chance. A lot of things have to go right having your horse at its best at the right time. We'll be a longshot, but Arlington has been very good to us, and she loves this course (all 3 of her wins)."

Sister Charlie has won four straight Grade I events, including the Diana Stakes at Saratoga on July 13.

"She's quite a horse," said Ross, whose wife, Susan, and son Brandon, both West Chicago High School graduates, are key performers in his stable. "But we were only 5 lengths off her last year. These horses are not robots, even though some are better than others."

"We've got to keep swinging and see what happens. There's always something around the corner and hopefully through the grace of God we'll get a chance for the big swing. The big boys are coming, but we're going to give our best."

It's quite an opportunity for the blacksmith-turned-trainer who was a talented high school tennis player and also did martial arts outside of school.

His father was an analytical chemist and his mother was a social worker. His twin brother worked as an assistant editor for the documentary television show "Wild Kingdom."

"But my grandfather loved horses," Ross said. "And everyone says that's where I got my love for horses."

He'd love to see a big race Saturday from Oh So Terrible.

"I think this is what horse racing is all about," Sudberry said. "You can come from the jobs on the backstretch and work your way up. Then all of sudden you're on top. And you know what? If the home team can win, that would be an unbelievable story."