Newly-acquired Hurricane Beach probably punched his ticket for next month's Prix d'Ete at Hippodrome 3R with an eye-popping win at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono last weekend in his first start for U.S.-based trainer Rene Allard.
But he also hit his sulky repeatedly during the race, something Allard is looking to correct before the next start.
"We'll put a bigger bike on him next time," said Allard. "Simon (Allard, the driver) said that when he hit top gear, he started hitting the bike, which scared him. And the more he hit it, the more he went."
On a sloppy track, Hurricane Beach rushed to the lead in the $17,000 event and paced a blistering opening quarter of :25.2, followed by what's believed to be a record half of :51.3 (for a five-eighths mile track) and three-quarters in 1:19.3 before finally crossing the wire in 1:49.4, a second faster than he'd ever gone before. He led by as much as a dozen lengths at mid-race, eventually winning by seven.
The overall harness record for reaching the half in a mile race is :51.2, set by Devonshire Hanover at The Meadowlands in 2006.
"It's not the kind of race I was hoping for," Rene Allard said. "I'd rather have seen him reach three quarters in 1:22. He's a strong horse with high speed and a long stride but his manners haven`t always been the greatest. I tried to relax him all week in training and thought he'd done well."
Allard and partners purchased the four-year-old son of Somebeachsomewhere for $110,000 at the Tattersalls Summer Mixed Sale at The Meadowlands on July 15. He previously raced for Determination Stable and Ontario-based trainer Luc Blais.
"He's a gorgeous horse. I'd been following him, and had the Prix d'Ete in mind when I purchased him," said Allard, who earlier this month won his 4,000th race, becoming the youngest North American trainer to reach the milestone.
"I went from having one horse, bought for $600, to training 130," said Allard. "It's gone quickly...even more quickly since I have a five-month-old son, Leo."
Allard would dearly love to win the Aug. 19 Prix d'Ete, the biggest race of the year in his native province, and has approached Louis-Philippe Roy, another native Quebecer, to drive.
Allard is also a big fan of the Gold Cup & Saucer in Prince Edward Island, a province where he actually bought a home two years ago. He's won the Cup & Saucer twice since 2009, and will be back for this year's race Aug. 18 with at least one horse -- likely Somewhere Fancy, another son of Somebeachsomewhere -- and possibly a second one.
(A Trot Insider Exclusive by Paul Delean)