The story of an amazing, history-making horse has now been translated to film.
The premiere of Somebeachsomewhere: Horse of a Lifetime will air nationwide on Sunday, March 10 on Eastlink Community TV.
“Watching it was inspiring and sad,” said Brent MacGrath, who bought the horse as a yearling for Schooner Stable, where he’s a member and conducted a lot of the horse’s training.
“We just wanted to tell his story. The first film (Some Horse!... The Story of Somebeachsomewhere) was done after his two-year-old year. We had a world champion at two, and lots of horses do well at two but don’t come back at three. He continued to do well, and then had an outstanding stallion career. He hit heights no other horse has hit.”
Producer Dale Stevens and director Amanda Gallagher began working on the documentary for Clerisy Entertainment before it was announced that Somebeachsomewhere was battling cancer. The 13-year-old standardbred was euthanized Jan. 14, 2018.
The release of the documentary had been planned for 2018 but was delayed because of the horse’s illness and untimely death.
It includes interviews with most of the people who played major roles in Somebeachsomewhere’s life, including MacGrath and his wife Rhonda, and Paul MacDonnell, who drove him in most of his races, as well as those who cared for him at Hanover Shoe Farms, in Pennsylvania, where he stood at stud.
“They did a lot of interviews, and we gave them video that hadn’t been shown before,” said MacGrath.
“I’d say I’ve seen 99 per cent of the documentary, because there were a few little tweaks done later. I’m very happy with the story and quality and I hope the public enjoys it.”
Michael Smith, vice-president of Eastlink Community TV and executive producer of the documentary, said it’s the kind of community story they like to tell.
“It’s a great story of success. I think it’s one of the Maritimes greatest sports stories in the past decade. It’s also very emotional.”
While setting world records and earning a lot of money Somebeachsomewhere remained a pleasant horse to work with. MacGrath said one of the things he enjoyed most about spending time with him was his gentleness.
The one-hour documentary will air at 9 p.m.
