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, July 12, 2008, Somebeachsomewhere made his first start outside of Ontario in his Meadowlands Pace elimination at The 'Big M' in East Rutherford, N.J.
'Beach' Sizzles in Pace Elims
Somebeachsomewhere [$2.40, $2.10, $2.10] made a tsunami-size splash in his U.S. debut as he won his elimination for the $1.1 million Meadowlands Pace in 1:48.3 on Saturday night.
The undefeated Canadian colt picked up his tenth career win in the first of three $50,000 eliminations for the track's signature event for three-year-old colt pacers. The top three finishers in each event, plus the fastest fourth place finisher overall, advanced to the $1.1 million final on Saturday, July 19.
Somebeachsomewhere, with Paul MacDonell in the sulky, motored through fractions of 27.1, 55 and 1:22.1 before exploding home with a 26.2 final quarter. His 1:48.3 clocking in the fifth race was the fastest Meadowlands Pace elimination victory in history and equaled the stakes record set by Rocknroll Hanover in 2005. Art Official finished 4-1/2 lengths behind after an arduous first-over bid. It was a half-length behind to Badlands Nitro in third. Fourth-place finisher Mucho Sleazy, who was clocked in 1:50, also advanced to the final.
"He went around and did his business and he never really got pacing hard until late in the mile," MacDonell said. "Art Official is a quality animal and he's proved that before. You can never be too careful with a horse like that on your back. I let him pace a little and halfway down the lane, he seemed to open up a length or two on him. I think you have to take into account there was a little bit of a stiff wind in his face coming home. With those variables counted in, it was a very impressive mile."
Somebeachsomewhere, trained by Brent MacGrath, will try to become the first colt to sail through the million-dollar North America Cup and Meadowlands Pace in undefeated style. The 2007 divisional champion is owned by the Schooner Stables of Bible Hill, Nova Scotia.