Despite Deweycheatumnhowe's stunning defeat earlier this evening at Mohawk Racetrack, bettors had faith in racing's pacing superstar Somebeachsomewhere, and the son of Mach Three didn't disappoint his backers, who sent him off at 1-9 in the second $132,326 division of the Simcoe Stakes.
Paul MacDonell sent 'Beach' to the front immediately from the inside post position and set absolutely blistering fractions of :25.3, :53.2, and 1:20.2 -the fastest three-quarters of a mile in Mohawk history - with only Luc Ouellette and Dali able to stay in the same county with him. The rest of the seven-horse field trailed by six lengths or more through much of the mile while Somebeachsomewhere just kept pouring it on.
As the field came down the stretch, the incendiary pace began to tell with the champion colt, and a late rush from The Mohegan Pan (Steve Condren) closed some distance, but even a :29.4 final quarter couldn't put a dent in another commanding victory for Somebeachsomewhere, who crossed the wire in 1:50.1.
The Mohegan Pan snatched the place spot, with Deuce Seelster (John Campbell) moving up for third and Dali, fourth.
Somebeachsomewhere - Simcoe
It was the 15th win in 16 starts for the nearly-unassailable Somebeachsomewhere, who has tasted defeat only once, in the $1 million Meadowlands Pace. He has earned over $2.3 million for the Schooner Stables of Bible Hill, Nova Scotia.
Trainer and co-owner Brent MacGrath admitted he had discussed going for a track record tonight with MacDonell. "It would have been nice to have the track record here, but the track's a little dead tonight and it's a cold night. We took a run at it, but he hasn't raced in three weeks, and maybe he's just not quite himself. He didn't have his typical kick at the end of the mile that he should have had and he's always had. There's a lot of sickness around. We'll have a look and see what he looks like inside."
MacGrath confirmed once again that the Little Brown Jug has never been one of Somebeachsomewhere's scheduled stops. "It never was on the table. We had a plan last year and the plan's been working. The group of us have decided that we're going to continue to work our plan. When you deviate from what you originally planned, I haven't had a lot of luck when I do that. We're sticking to Plan A."
The Truro, Nova Scotia native feels confident that his colt will have time to regain top form in time for his upcoming races at The Red Mile in Lexington, and confirmed that the Messenger Pace is also part of 'Plan A'.
In the first $130,326 Simcoe Stakes division for three-year-old pacing colts, Keystone Horatio and Santanna Blue Chip duked it out as expected with Santanna Blue Chip prevailing by a nose at the wire.
Pedestrian early fractions set the pair up for a sprint to the wire, with Keystone Horatio and Randy Waples rallying from the pocket spot to challenge leader Santanna Blue Chip on the inside. For several strides the two were inseparable, but Jody Jamieson managed to squeeze just a drop more from the son of Art Major, which he co-owns with father Carl Jamieson, Jeff Gillis, and the George Arthur Stable. They crossed the wire in 1:53.2, with Keystone Horatio second and Get Out Of Dodge (Phil Hudon) stepping up for third.
Santanna Blue Chip - Simcoe
"Randy cleared in :27.2 and we both hadn't raced since the Confederation Cup, so I wasn't sure how tight his horse was," Jamieson said. "I knew my horse might not be quite as tight as he needed to be, but with the short field we kind of got lucky there. My horse paced right to the wire, paced through hard.
"Down the stretch it's hard to shake good horses no matter how fast you're going, and Keystone Horatio is a good horse no matter who he races against. But my horse was good today, and this should be a good prep for the (Little Brown) Jug."
Jamieson is clearly pumped at the prospect of competing in harness racing's traditional showcase for pacers. "Hopefully, with a good draw, we'll give them a run this year. It's going to be a lot of fun having my own horse in there."
To view Saturday's results, click here.
(With files from WEG, photo courtesy New Image Media)