Trot Insider has learned that multiple stakes champion Beach Ray passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 21.

Beach Ray's barn buddy of 12 years, Caygeon Clay, had passed away just five weeks ago due to age complications. He was 35. Trot Insider recently featured a story on the bond they shared with Beauchamp titled 'Farewell To A Longtime Friend.'

"I believe it was from a broken heart," said Beach Ray's longtime caretaker, Sarah Beauchamp.

Beach Ray and Caygeon Clay were inseparable in retirement, sharing a large 20x50 run in stall and always looking out for one another.

"He dealt with ulcers and he had flares and I had him on ulcer medication, but I just think he had a hard time dealing without his buddy," said Beauchamp, fighting back tears. "You could not separate them. You could not put them in [separate] stalls side by side without them fretting. They had to be together. They were that attached."

Beach Ray was purchased for just over $30,000 at the 1994 Harrisburg Sale as a yearling by the late John Grant and was trained mainly by Scott McEneny and brothers Ray and Larry Remmen throughout his racing career.

Beach Ray was one of the first horses McEneny toured with on the Grand Circuit. As a two-year-old, he earned back-to-back stakes wins in the Champlain and Nassagaweya at Mohawk Racetrack and captured the Garden State Stake at Freehold Raceway.

"I've always had some success in Ontario, but I've never had the chance to do that much travelling," said McEneny after the pacer's freshman season. "It was a great experience. I loved going to the different tracks. You meet a lot of important people and they treat you very well. It's exciting to be there."

At three, Beach Ray won the Simcoe Stakes at Mohawk and earned the biggest victory of his career in the $200,000 Provincial Cup at the now defunct Windsor Raceway, scoring at odds of 15-1 by two lengths over Jet Laag in 1:53.1, which was three-fifths of a second off the stakes record shared by Pacific Rocket and Presidential Ball at the time.

The win was a memorable one for trainer/driver Ray Remmen, who had raced at the Windsor track for more than a decade. "It was a big personal thrill to win this race. All the years I raced here, this was the event. I always hoped to have a horse in the Provincial Cup," he had said after the victory.

Beach Ray took his mark of 1:52.4 at Mohawk Racetrack during his last full season on track as a five-year-old and was retired at age eight with a record reading 22-19-21 in 124 starts and earnings of $871,536.

Beauchamp, who had travelled the Grand Circuit with Beach Ray as his caretaker during his two and three-year-old seasons, had offered the pacer a home for life upon his retirement.

"He was a fun-loving horse," said Beauchamp. "He knew your feelings. He was another one that was connected to me. We had quite a bond."

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the connections of Beach Ray.