Last offspring of legendary N.S. horse wins the lone race that eluded his sire | CBC News

The offspring of a legendary Nova Scotia racehorse has won the only race that his sire lost. 

Somebeachsomewhere was considered one of the best harness racing horses of all time, winning 20 of 21 career races. The only one he lost was the New Jersey Meadowlands Pace in 2008.

Fourteen years later, his colt, Beach Glass, has claimed the title.

“It’s a bit surreal,” said Brent MacGrath, who owned and trained both horses.

Beach Glass started off the race in fifth place, slowly working his way to the front of the pack. He was neck and neck with another horse, I Did It Myway, until the last turn.

MacGrath said three-year-old Beach Glass isn’t very experienced compared to some of his competitors. However, he said he often pulls ahead toward the end of the race.

“I was quite confident that he was going to get it done,” said MacGrath.

MacGrath trained Somebeach in Truro. After his racing career, Somebeach became a breeding stallion, siring more than a thousand foals.

Beach Glass was the last of those foals to be born. 

Somebeach died in 2018, but MacGrath still had a vial of his frozen semen. In North America, he said breeders are allowed to use the semen up to a year after a stallion’s death.

“So we got the one shot to breed our mare to Somebeachsomewhere with the use of frozen semen, and [Beach Glass] is the resulting colt,” he said.

MacGrath said that Beach Glass, born in 2019, isn’t following the exact same career path as his sire. 

Somebeach was bred in Ontario and raced in a program designed for horses from the province. Since he stood as a stallion in Pennsylvania, Beach Glass is considered to be bred there.

Most of Beach Glass’s races are in the United States. In three weeks, he’ll be racing on the same New Jersey track again.

“We love the sport, and we love horses. So  we’ve been very lucky playing a game that we love to play,” he said.

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