Of the trotters named as 2024 O'Brien Award finalists, which horse do you feel has the best chance of being named the 2024 Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year?

The winners of all the divisions and the Somebeachsomewhere Horse of the Year will be announced at the O’Brien Awards Gala on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, which will take place at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale. Here's a look at the trotting finalists.

The Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly division is headlined by finalists Lasting Dream and Monalishi.

The well-bred Luc Blais trainee Lasting Dream impressed many in her rookie season. The daughter of Cantab Hall won the Pure Ivory final at Woodbine Mohawk Park and followed up that performance with solid runner-up finishes in the Peaceful Way and Mohawk Million. Although only winning two of nine appearances, Lasting Dream was a model of consistency as she picked up a cheque in all nine starts and finished the season with $393,615 in earnings.

Monalishi posted an impressive freshman campaign for trainer Blake MacIntosh, making the Ontario Sires Stakes program her own personal playground. From five starts, the daughter of Green Manalishi S scored four wins and a lone second by a neck. Her most impressive and lucrative score came in the Peaceful Way final at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Monalishi finished her season with $562,811 from 10 starts, hitting the board in eight of those. 

Maryland and You Got It Kemp are the finalists for the Two-Year-Old Trotting Colt division.

Rookie trotting sensation Maryland had as successful a freshman campaign as one could hope. A son of Chapter Seven, Maryland dominated the division with six wins and amassed $1,675,697 in purses from nine starts. The Marcus Melander trainee collected the William Wellwood Memorial and Mohawk Million in Canada, as well as the Breeders Crown and Peter Haughton Memorial south of the border.

A gelded son of Muscle Mass, You Got It Kemp dominated his Ontario Sires Stakes division in 2024. From only six starts, the Dan Lagace-trained trotter went to the winner’s circle five of those times and all of those victories came at the OSS Gold level. The campaign was capped off by an impressive score in the OSS Super Final at Woodbine Mohawk Park to finish his freshman season with $378,167 in purses. 

The Three-Year-Old Trotting Filly division features familiar finalists Drawn Impression and Willys Home Run.

In a rematch of last year's Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly division, Drawn Impression hopes to flip the script this year. Although lightly raced, the Muscle Hill filly still picked up stake scores in the Casual Breeze and Simcoe Stakes while earning a new lifetime mark in her Breeders Crown elimination. A model of consistency, the Luc Blais trainee earned $373,615 in her limited starts and only missed the board twice.
    
Last year's winner as Canada’s Two-Year-Old Trotting Filly of the Year, Willys Home Run had another successful campaign picking up $431,311 from her 13 starts. The daughter of Archangel collected more Ontario Sires Stakes hardware, winning two Golds and repeating as the OSS Super Final champion for trainer Kyle Fellows. 

The finalists in the Three-Year-Old Trotting Colt division are Highland Kismet and Paquet.

Not raced at two, Highland Kismet began to turn heads as soon as he hit the track as a three-year-old. Winning the Goodtimes Trot at Woodbine Mohawk Park in just his fifth career start, the Mark Etsell trainee finished the season with stakes wins in the Simcoe and Bluegrass Stakes at The Red Mile while also posting a second-place finish in the Hambletonian at The Meadowlands.  A gelded son of Father Patrick, Highland Kismet finished his season with $727,850 in earnings and eight wins from 17 starts.

Much like his fellow nominee, Paquet was also unraced at two and only went behind the gate eight times this season for trainer Carl Jamieson. The son of Muscle Mass was undefeated in the provincial program going a perfect three-for-three, including an impressive multi-length score in the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final. Paquet finished his season with four wins, only one off-the-board finish and a bankroll of $344,432. 

Call Me Goo and M Ms Dream are the finalists for the Older Trotting Mare division.

A daughter of Googoo Gaagaa, Call Me Goo became a serious player in the open mare ranks this season as a four-year-old. The Jason Skinner trainee won Canada’s richest race for older trotting mares, the Armbro Flight at Woodbine Mohawk Park, and added the Allerage Mare Trot and Breeders Crown to her mantle after a late-season sale and shift to trainer Ake Svanstedt. Call Me Goo won seven of her 14 starts and collected $729,869. 

M Ms Dream enjoyed another successful campaign for the Ron Burke stable in 2024, collecting $533,276 in 18 starts with seven wins. The five-year-old daughter of Swan For All won multiple legs of the Miss Versatility Series and was second in the Armbro Flight. Her most lucrative victory of the year came at The Meadowlands in the Dr. John R. Steele Memorial.

Amigo Volo and Logan Park are this year’s finalists in the Older Trotting Horse division.

A divisional champion stateside as a three-year-old in 2020, Amigo Volo enjoyed another successful campaign in 2024. The seven year-old gelded son of Father Patrick collected 11 seasonal wins — 10 in the Preferred class at Woodbine Mohawk Park for trainer Meg Crone — and amassed total earnings of $316,706.

The O’Brien Award winner in this division a year ago, Logan Park had a career year in 2024. The six-year-old, who hails from the Kyle & Rob Fellows stable, made history this year as he became the first Canadian-sired trotter to post a sub-1:50 victory with his 1:49.2 Allerage Open Trot tally at The Red Mile. Other major victories for the son of Archangel included the Dayton Trotting Derby, the Earl Rowe Memorial, and the FanDuel Trot. Logan Park posted 12 wins from 17 starts and collected $940,240 in purses.    

Have your say on which horse could win top honours in our SC web poll by clicking here.

(Standardbred Canada)