Many people spend years in harness racing hoping to get that horse which surpasses all expectations. The sport often proves more humbling above all else, making where Don Beatson currently stands a ride to enjoy.

Beatson acquired the Big Jim mare So Much More via private sale in 2019 after she raced against stakes company in Atlantic Canada as a two-year-old and early in her three-year-old year. But the purchase proved so much more lucrative as Beatson’s pupil progressed, moving from winning the Grassroots final to becoming one of Ontario’s top pacing mares in 2020.

“You never really let yourself think that high,” Beatson said of setting expectations on a horse. “You hope you have something that’s pretty good, but no—I never thought of anything like that. She was just better...you could tell right away with her. Like she was a different kind of animal than pretty much all the rest.”

So Much More, racing for Beatson along with his son Kenn Beatson and grandson Cole England, established herself at Mohawk’s top class at the end of 2019, when she won at the Fillies & Mare Preferred level as a three-year-old. On eight occasions in 2020, So Much More scored in the Fillies & Mares Preferred and on two occasions -- which stand out in Beatson’s mind -- stepped into open company and beat the province's best males. In total, she raced 30 times and won on 12 outings, earning $300,037.

“Obviously the couple times she won the Preferred there against the horses...That was amazing,” Beatson said. “And just every time she was strong. There was no real bad [race] I don’t think. We were really excited all year with her.

“We were really happy with the way she went, and there were no faults at all,” Beatson also said. “There was a shutdown there, but I guess in the big scheme it might’ve helped us for the rest. And even now we’re getting a little rest again.”

Beyond her efforts atop the tough Mohawk circuit, So Much More also established her talents on the Grand Circuit as well. She finished third in the $290,000 Roses Are Red final and fifth in the $215,000 Milton final at a time when Beatson was on the mend from an intestinal blockage, leaving the mare in the care of his sons and ultimately as the only horse in the care of Beatson.

“It was an emergency thing, so I was down for two months,” Beatson said. “I got rid of all my other horses. Ken [Beatson] was trying to do it, but he lives two hours away, and then he was overworked; he has a job. So we said ‘okay, we’ll send them all home.’ Except for this mare, we kept her going. We wanted to. To tell you the truth right now, that’s the only one I’m doing.”

The gift So Much More has become, alongside the late-year medical episode which sidelined Beatson, sweetened the moment when the patriarch of the family affair learned that his prized mare earned an O’Brien Award nomination for best older pacing mare.

“That’s what makes it so good, you know? It keeps you going,” Beatson said of his family’s involvement with his stable. “Myself...I don’t have to do so much of it, but they like it and are really interested. So that’s why it’s way better, when you have somebody like that with you.

“It’s an amazing thing when you think about it. To even be nominated for that,” Beatson also said. “It was pretty exciting. I couldn’t wait to tell the other boys. It was amazing.”

(L-R:) Don Beatson, James MacDonald, So Much More, Cole England, Kenn Beatson after a win at Mohawk in 2019

But Beatson doesn’t only attribute his success to his family. He credits his longtime blacksmith, Don Thompson, for his technical prowess and ability to keep his horses sound. Beatson also gives credit to those who drove his mare, largely James MacDonald but also Louis-Philippe Roy.

“As far as we were concerned, James was our perfect man there,” Beatson said. “He seemed to get the best out of her every time and didn’t hurt her. Louis Roy was good too. The times he did drive her, he was enthused to get to drive her.”

Given the circumstances imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beatson and many other nominees will be attending the O’Brien Awards virtually. He plans to have a small celebration with the potential at great success again in the back of his mind for 2021.

“As far as we know, everything is still good with her. When [racing] starts, we’ll pretty much be ready.”

The 2020 Virtual O’Brien Awards Gala takes place on Sunday, January 31, 2021 and will be available for viewing on standardbredcanada.ca from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. (EST).