The Canadian Sportsman
Archive for August, 2009
August 27, 2009
MacGrath recounts the Crowning moment for Somebeachsomewhere
Brent MacGrath always knew Somebeachsomewhere (Claus Andersen photo) was a great horse, but when, exactly, did the trainer, part-owner and full-time car salesman from Truro, NS think the pacer was Hall of Fame calibre?
“To me, when he set a (stakes) record in the Breeders Crown in the last race of the year, that said a lot about him,” MacGrath said of the 1:48.3 performance on Nov. 29 at the Meadowlands. “That might not say a lot to a lot of people, but that said a lot about the horse’s makeup to me.”
Tonight, less than nine months after that race, Somebeachsomewhere has been officially enshrined in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. The speed in which The Beach made The Hall matched that of hockey stars Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux who were both enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame the year after they retired as players.
“It’s unbelievable, still, to get that horse, to get a horse like him. Getting into the Hall of Fame, certainly after what he did isn’t a surprise, but maybe getting in as quickly as he did is,” MacGrath said tonight in Toronto before the induction ceremony.
Obviously, Somebeachsomewhere was a great horse, but there was something special about him that caught the attention of the Canadian mainstream media. MacGrath believes the horse’s back story was compelling.
“Probably the buzz came because a car salesman bought him for $40,000 and trained him in Truro, Nova Scotia,” MacGrath.
Nine months removed from The Beach’s last race, back at work at the two Truro car dealerships he owns with another of the horse’s owners, Garry Pye, MacGrath said he misses the people on the stakes trail and the horse, who now stands at Hanover Shoe Farms in Pennsylvania.
“He made the day go fast. He was such a personality,” MacGrath said. “He was so healthy. You knew when you went in the barn at night he was going to be standing up and happy to see you, ready to go for a walk. His head wouldn’t be down. His feed tub wouldn’t have feed in it. His manure was where it was supposed to be and how much of it was supposed to be there. His temperature would be 99.8 and that’s how it was every day of his life.
“That made him a joy. It doesn’t matter what routine you get into, when you’re picking off $168,000 a race, you get used to it.”
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August 27, 2009
The latest installment from my weekly Guelph Mercury column…
A few Saturdays ago, Dr. Ian Moore (Dave Landry photo) was standing in the front paddock at the Meadowlands doing a quick calculation on what an incredible week it had been.
“What was that, $150,000? That's $300,000. Yeah, we made about $350,000 this week,” he said, flashing a grin.
One can only imagine how much the trainer and horse owner from Charlottetown, PEI, might make on Sept. 5 at Mohawk Racetrack if all goes well this Saturday at the Campbellville oval with his stellar pair of two-year-old pacing colts — undefeated Malicious and Battle of Waterloo champ Wellthereyougo — and older pacer Shadow Play.
Click on the words “Guelph Mercury” to read the article in its entirety.
August 27, 2009
There is sweet poetry to the notion that what will likely be Rich N Elegant’s last foal has been sired by Somebeachsomewhere (Dave Landry photo).
That was the news an hour before the 2009 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame induction ceremony courtesy of Dr. Bridgette Jablonsky .
Hanover Shoe’s esteemed Farm Manager was in Toronto to celebrate the induction of both Hanover horses into the Canadian Hall.
On July 6, it was confirmed Rich N Elegant was in foal — sort of — with The Beach’s baby, at least genetically.
“This year, I tell you, I didn’t think we were going to get an embryo from her. We tried and tried and tried and it was July 6. It was our last breeding day,” Dr. J said.
Rich N Elegant, now 18, is the most successful standardbred broodmare in history by virtually any measure. Two years ago, she carried a dead foal for a few months and almost died herself during foaling. That was when Dr. J made the decision to breed her via embryo transfer only.
“We decided it wasn’t worth risking her life anymore. There’s a suckling that she’s not raising. We have another recipient mare that has her baby,” Dr. J said.
Which is a bit of shame considering Dr. J says Rich N Elegant was an exceptional mother.
“Her foals never get hurt. She’s very smart in a herd. She never puts herself or her baby in a position where she’s going to get hurt,” Dr. J said. “If there’s 20 in a field and they’re all crowding around and want to be the first ones to come in, she’s smart enough to hang back and wait. She’s actually a little bit aloof. She’s not one of these real people-friendly horses. She has a certain air, a certain aura around her. Even if you didn’t know she was Rich N Elegant, you would go in a field and know she’s a good mare.”
While next year’s ET foal likely will be Rich N Elegant’s last, Dr. J can’t wait to see what Somebeachsomewhere might add to her legacy.
“I just hope it’s a little boy embryo,” she said.
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