Somebeachsomewhere, the greatest harness horse of all time ( take that Dan Patch!) got another major award last week. The U.S. Harness writers association voted him the United States Harness horse of the year. ‘Beach’ easily outpointed the brilliant trotter Deweycheatumnhowe who shares the same affection for the uselessness of spaces between words. The vote was not unanimous for Beach who earned 72 of 72 eligible ballots for both three year-old Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year in the Canadian O’Brien Awards two weeks ago.
Earlier this year, Beach’s owner/trainer Brent MacGrath was concerned that when the American writers cast their ballots, they would be inclined to choose the American trotter over the Canadian Pacer. MacGrath indicated at the time that the Breeders Crown races at the Meadowlands in the fall might affect that thinking and he was right. Beach won his race, Dewey lost his; case closed.
I had a nice harness racing weekend. On Saturday, I was invited to Victory Lane Farm for the opportunity to take a trotter out on the track. Victory Lane, kind of near Flamboro Downs is where Paul Garafalo has the horses syndicated by Harness Racing Canada. I fed some carrots to Son Of Paige, the horse I own ( well I’m in for 1/100th). I was introduced to Bumble Bee Road, another Harness Racing Canada athlete, and then I was steered to Fraser’s Chip, a recuperating trotter who may or may not have a future in pari-mutuel races. Nick, the groom put the harness on him and I jumped in the bike. I had noticed that some of the guys working the horses out were wearing hats and face guards, but it was fairly mild out so I elected to eschew any facial coverage. This was a big mistake.
I was instructed to take Fraser’s Chip out on the 5/8ths track for about four miles…or 6 laps and to take it easy on him; just let him find a comfortable trot and keep it there. If you’ve never sat behind a harness horse, it’s very pleasant and not particularly scary. This one gave me an enjoyable 20 minute experience on the track, trotting easily around and responding to my various tugs and pulls to keep turning right ( I drove him clockwise).
What I didn’t anticipate, was the constant kickback from the track – little bits of dirt and gravel kept getting kicked back into my face. At one point, a chunk hit my eye and I had to debate how to get it out. If I transferred the reins to one hand to use the other to restore my eyesight, the change in pressure on the horse might have persuaded him to take an abrupt left hand turn on the track. I finally was able to shift the reins for ten seconds to allow me to wipe my eye clean, and Fraser’s Chip did indeed, float slightly to his left, but it wasn’t dangerous.
I returned the trotter to the stable and expressed my gratitude to trainer Wayne Prezcator, who by the way is piling up some pretty good numbers this year at Flamboro and Western Fair.
Actually, the groom thanked me for working the horse and I realized I was in a scene reminiscent of the one in Huckleberry Finn, where he charges his friends to paint the fence, because it’s so much fun.
On Sunday, I wanted to watch Son Of Paige, who had drawn the 8-hole in an condition trot at Woodbine. By my calculation, the eighth race would go off around 4 pm, which would allow me a small afternoon nap, but as I watched the races go off on HPI, it was clear they were running them off at a fever pitch – like every 16 minutes. I gathered up my 11 year-old daughter Emily and we sped to Woodbine. I live very near Cawthra and the QEW and can make it to Woodbine in 17 minutes – trust me, I time these things.
We made it with just 4 minutes to the 8th race and it sure was worth it…not. Son Of Paige went off at 58-1 and sat 8th down the backstretch. There was an encouraging move around the far turn as he followed some cover and in the stretch, he looked as if he might get a cheque, but he slowed to a walk in the final 16th and finished 8.
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