CAMPBELLVILLE, ON — Let the trumpets sound and the herald’s sing — on Sunday, Aug. 10 at Mohawk Racetrack, super colt Somebeachsomewhere will make his long awaited appearance in the Ontario Sires Stakes program.
Having frightened away enough of the division’s regulars to preclude the need for an elimination, Somebeachsomewhere will tackle seven Ontario-sired peers in the $180,000 Gold Final, an event OSS fans, and as it turns out, the colt’s owners, have been waiting on for a full year.
“They were after me to go down to The Meadowlands last week for the Oliver Wendell Holmes,” reports trainer Brent MacGrath. “But this is important to me, and not just me, to the whole group. I bought the horse because he was Ontario-sired and I want to support that program.”
The lack of an elimination put a minor wrinkle in MacGrath’s master plan for the three-year-old pacing colt. A win in the elimination and the final would have ensured Somebeachsomewhere of a berth in the Nov. 15 Super Final at Woodbine Racetrack, but a single deposit of points in the colt’s account means it is less of a sure thing that fans will see him return to Ontario in the fall.
Right now MacGrath and his partners in the Schooner Stable — James Bagnell of Truro, NS; Pamela Dean of Londonderry, NS; Reg Petitpas of Shediac Bridge, NB; and Truro, NS residents Garry Pye and Stuart Rath — are focused on bringing the colt to peak performance for a crack at the world record this September at the famed Red Mile in Lexington, KY.
The colt has already participated in setting one world speed mark this summer, carving most of the fractions in the July 19 Meadowlands Pace Final before being caught at the wire by Art Official in a 1:47 sizzler, and MacGrath feels the all age 1:46.1 record is within the pacer’s range.
“I don’t think that will be his legacy, second in 1:47,” declares the Truro, NS resident, who has pressed the pause button on his business career to train Somebeachsomewhere through his sophomore season. “He’s only had 12 starts; he’s just getting into shape.”
MacGrath’s confidence in the colt, and his willingness to spread that enthusiasm far and wide, is one of the factors that have made Somebeachsomewhere so appealing to fans, both harness racing regulars and those who have never set foot on a racetrack. The horseman points to the universal respect commanded by driver Paul MacDonell as another element, along with the fact that a group of self made business people from the Maritimes acquired the horse for an understandable sum as a yearling and have held fast amidst the astronomical offers to sell.
“This is a group of people who know nothing about horses — knew nothing, they know something now — but they’re business people, who got together and kept the horse, turned down the big offers at two,” says MacGrath, who purchased the colt for $40,000 at the 2006 Lexington Select Yearling Sale. “They are very successful people, but they are all humble, down to earth Maritimers.”
Bottom line, MacGrath figures the horse would have attracted a following no matter who owned him or where he hailed from. Undefeated in six two-year-old starts, and delivering the race of his life in his only defeat this season, Somebeachsomewhere has simply been spectacular.
“It gives people some hope,” says the trainer. “We all start each year with a dream. And I never dreamt we’d get this. I thought we’d get a nice Ontario-sired horse.”
Seven nice Ontario-sired colts will line up against the monster from the Maritimes in Sunday’s Gold Final, and in spite of Somebeachsomewhere’s effortless victory in last week’s three-year-old open, MacGrath knows there’s no such thing as a sure thing in horse racing.
“The Gold Final is pretty much the same as the open. Keystone Horatio is the best horse, and The Mohegan Pan is right there with him,” notes MacGrath. “But Keystone Horatio has made three-quarters of a million dollars; he’s not going to hand it to you.”
While Somebeachsomewhere and Guelph resident Paul MacDonell will start from Post 3 in Sunday’s seventh race, The Mohegan Pan and Keystone Horatio landed the outside Posts 7 and 8, making the job of toppling the giant even tougher.
Fans making the trip to Mohawk Racetrack to see Somebeachsomewhere make his Ontario Sires Stakes debut will be treated to a commemorative poster of the colt provided by the OSS program, The Canadian Sportsman and the Woodbine Entertainment Group. MacDonell and MacGrath will be in the grandstand between 6 and 7 pm to sign the posters and share their dream with the colt’s fans, who will also have an opportunity to win a trip to �some beach some where’.
Doors open at the Campbellville oval at 5:30 pm, with the first race going postward at 7:30 pm.
For complete entries please go to: http://www.standardbredcanada.ca/entries/data/emohssu.html.