by Karen Briggs, WEG media department

Princeton, ON — In any other year, Carl Jamieson’s top pair of 3-year-old pacing colts would be getting a lot of media attention.

But in a year which includes a pacing phenomenon named Somebeachsomewhere, Santanna Blue Chip and Legacy N Diamonds somehow look like underdogs.

Jamieson doesn’t seem to mind. His game plan for the two remains squarely aimed at the upcoming C$1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup, with the May 31 Burlington Stakes serving as their first starts of the season. After that, he plans to point both colts at the Meadowlands Pace.

Still, the veteran trainer has already had to alter his plan in one significant and sobering way. Up until a few weeks ago, he had three colts, rather than two, prepping for the North America Cup. But an infection gone horribly wrong recently forced the euthanasia of Robert’s Rage, an Artsplace son who Jamieson co-owned along with Thomas Kyron, Fred Brayford, and the George Arthur Stable. The colt earned over $400,000 in his rookie season and was second to his stablemate Santanna in the Governor’s Cup, then third in the Breeders Crown.

It’s a loss that clearly still stings.

“Robert’s Rage was one of the better horses I had,” Jamieson says. “I thought he was close to Santanna in ability, and he was training down beautifully. He was insured, of course, but you really can’t replace a horse like that.”

On the positive side, both Santanna Blue Chip (by Art Major out of the Matt’s Scooter mare, Mmissus Hanover) and Legacy N Diamonds (by The Panderosa out of the Artsplace mare, Lady Luvs Diamonds), looked hale, hearty, and impressive in a pair of qualifiers at Mohawk on May 5 and 16. Though critics have remarked that Santanna Blue Chip hasn’t gained much in height or breadth since his freshman year, Jamieson says the colt “leveled out early, and is very nicely proportioned.”

He won his first 2008 qualifier by six lengths, the second by eight, in times of 1:55.1 and 1:53.2, looking well within himself each time.

Legacy N Diamonds, meanwhile, was a game second to Somebeachsomewhere on May 5, pacing the mile in 1:53.2, and won his second qualifier (minus “the Beach”) in 1:55.

Steve Condren was in the bike for Legacy N Diamonds’ second qualifying effort, and Jamieson says the Milton, Ontario linesman will pilot the colt in the North America Cup, while son Jody, who owns a piece of Santanna Blue Chip, will steer him as he has done throughout the colt’s career.

If Jamieson favors one pacer over the other, sensitivity towards his co-owners prevents him from saying so.

“I own the same amount of both of them, so I wouldn’t want to say which is the better horse. They’re two nice colts — all-around nice horses who are easy to handle and have a good attitude to their work.

“Legacy was the most expensive of the three (the colt was a $90,000 yearling purchase at Harrisburg, to Santanna’s $75,000 and Robert’s Rage’s $50,000), but he got himself paid for last year, so it’s all profit now,” says Jamieson, tongue firmly in cheek.

On paper, of course, Santanna Blue Chip (owned by Jamieson along with Jeffrey Gillis, the George Arthur Stable, and Jody Jamieson’s 1140545 Ontario Ltd.) is the more accomplished of the two colts. As a 2-year-old, he earned $931,223, and was never worse than third in 11 starts. The highlight of his rookie year was undoubtedly his nose victory in the $650,000 Breeders Crown for 2-year-old pacing colts in November, an event Somebeachsomewhere sat out. He set a new lifetime mark of 1:51.3 with that victory, and was also triumphant in October in the $760,968 Governor’s Cup, and second to Somebeachsomewhere in the Champlain Stakes.

Legacy N Diamonds, no slouch but not quite in Santanna’s league last year, made 10 starts as a 2-year-old, winning three and placing second once, and accumulating a bankroll of $169,299 for owners Jamieson and Ken Henwood.

Jamieson notes, however, that Legacy is a growthy colt who put on three or four inches over the winter. As his balance improves, his best efforts may lie ahead of him.

“I think they both came back more developed and strong,” he says.

“I didn’t really feel they needed to race prior to the Burlington,” he adds. “It’s hard to get into the early stakes once they’ve made a certain amount of money, and the qualifiers put a couple of fast miles into them. There’s going to be lots of racing all year for them.”

Can either of them beat Somebeachsomewhere? Jamieson confesses that when he saw Brent MacGrath’s 3-year-old sensation at his May 5 qualifier, “I thought he was a monster. He’s an amazing horse, and yeah, it’s a little scary to be racing against him.

“But he’s had some problems this spring, and anything can happen. That’s why they call it horse racing.

“Brent and I are good friends, but I’m going to beat him if I can, and I think he respects that.

“(Somebeachsomewhere) hasn’t raced yet this season, so he’s not a monster yet.”