"We thought we were going to get probably like some of the other ones we had bought, a horse that we could maybe do in the stakes races ... but right away, she showed more."

In fact, she proved she was capable of so much more.

So Much More has been a dream purchase for trainer Don Beatson, his son Kenneth and grandson Cole. Spotted on the Standardbred Canada Horses For Sale board in 2019 without a price and the caveat of serious inquiries only please, Beatson obtained the filly for $50,000 from breeder-owner Doug MacPhee of New Haven, P.E.I.

"When she first came off the trailer, the truck driver said, 'Oh, she's a nice filly; she'll probably do in the Grassroots around here,'" Beatson told COSA TV in an interview last month. "And I said, 'We hope she does,' and that's about it."

From her first start for the Beatsons in an Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots event at The Raceway at the Western Fair District on May 31, 2019, the daughter of Big Jim and Ladysai has consistently exceeded her connections' expectations.

"The very first race was the Grassroots at London, and it was like 10 days after we got her landed here ... and, yeah!, she won that race ... and our eyes were opened after that," Beatson continued. So Much More won that debut outing in 1:54.4, and she won three more times on the OSS circuit that season, including a 1:51.1 score in the Grassroots Final on Oct. 5 at Woodbine Mohawk Park.

After her stakes season concluded, So Much More transitioned seamlessly into a place among the top distaff campaigners in greater Toronto, winning two Preferred Handicap events at Mohawk in December 2019 to cap her sophomore season. She has only continued to grow from there, posting 11 wins and $278,537 in earnings through 27 starts so far as a four-year-old and acquiring a mark of 1:49.3. Perhaps more impressive than her OSS success is the fact that two of those wins have come against male company, in Mohawk Preferred events on Feb. 15 and Oct. 24.

So Much More will seek her 12th seasonal score in Friday's (Dec. 4) $32,000 Fillies and Mares Preferred Handicap at Mohawk, where she is assigned the outside post nine and has been installed the 3-1 morning line favourite. As he has done on all but two occasions this season, James MacDonald will drive.

For such a small stable — in 2020, the Beatsons have started only three horses — to be able to achieve such success makes the experience all the sweeter for Ken Beatson:

"We've raced all our lives at Clinton and London and Hanover and Grand River, and before that, tracks that aren't even around anymore — Elmira, Orangeville, Goderich ... To be able to go to Mohawk and win on a consistent basis, it's so exciting — you dream about it."

To view Friday's complete entries at Woodbine Mohawk Park, click the following link: Friday Entries – Woodbine Mohawk Park.