It was 10 years ago this year that pacing colt Somebeachsomewhere dominated harness racing's headlines throughout his nearly flawless sophomore season.
In honour of the Canadian-sired superstar many consider one of the greatest Standardbreds to ever look through a bridle, Trot Insider will post the news stories from his on-track appearances throughout the year as they happened a decade ago along with the replays from those captivating races.
Ten years ago today, May 31, 2008, Somebeachsomewhere made his first pari-mutuel start as a three-year-old in a division of the Burlington Stakes -- a race that would be renamed in his honour years later.
A look at the racelines from 2008, however, show that Somebeachsomewhere was not initially pointed to this race for his first start. He was in fact scratched from a May 17 OSS Gold event at Mohawk. Trot Insider caught up with driver Paul MacDonell to discuss the May 5 qualifier, the scratch from his first scheduled start and his eagerly-anticipated three-year-old debut.
The 'Beach' Is A Beast In Second Split
Somebeachsomewhere lived up to all the hype in his 2008 debut on Saturday at Mohawk Racetrack when he captured the second $100,000 Burlington split for driver Paul MacDonell.
Starting from Post 1, Canada's co-Horse of the Year from 2007 got away in fourth for MacDonell and quickly brushed to the front, taking over from Santanna Blue Chip (Jody Jamieson), who had set the quarter in :28.1.
Somebeachsomewhere cleared to the lead at the :55.3 half and then cruised to the three-quarters in 1:23.2. Santanna Blue Chip pulled to the outside down the lane, but his wheels were only spinning as Somebeachsomewhere was much the best, winning handily by a length and a half in 1:51.3.
"There was a lot of anticipation over this horse all winter and most of the spring so it was nice to get him back behind the gate and into racing style again," said MacDonell. "He will have lots of chances to leave the gate this year I figure. I wanted to let him relax off the gate and see what unfolded.
"He was up to this race pretty easy. They will get tougher from here no doubt. I was really happy with the way he finished the mile.
"Dali looked very impressive to me. The times don't mean that much. To me, it's more about how they get to the wire that is more important, especially early in the season."
Santanna Blue Chip was second best while On The Brink (Luc Ouellette) rounded out the top three.
Somebeachsomewhere ($2.50) is trained by Brent Macgrath for the Schooner Stables. The Mach Three – Wheres The Beach colt was perfect in six starts as a freshman, banking $812,592, which included a victory in the $1 million Metro Pace in a world record time of 1:49.3.