The words are often quoted as horsemen are called upon to compare current racehorses with those from the past: "You can't compare horses from different generations." Yet when looking at Bulldog Hanover's accomplishments this year, it's hard not to be analytical in defining his place in history. As a 4-year-old Bulldog Hanover rewrote the record books to some degree and had a run that is truly unmatched in the sport's history. Trainer Noel Daley, who was tasked with Bulldog Hanover's conditioning and performance when the son of Shadow Play was sent to the Meadowlands, put it succinctly. "I don't think any horse has ever had that kind of impact in a 21-day period," Daley said. "I mean he came down to me after breeding mares and racing and all I did was babysit." While Daley is kind to take a minimal amount of credit, surely Jack Darling had prepared his horse well and driver Dexter Dunn did the rest in a role he perhaps hasn't been given full credit for. From June 25 to July 16 Bulldog Hanover showcased his enormous talent, pacing final quarters in 24 4/5 as well as three consecutive miles in 1:46, 1:46 1/5, and a 1:45 4/5 world-record performance in the Haughton Memorial to put a fitting bow on the package that rightfully carved out a place in the history books of 4-year-old pacers. In fact, there have been historic 4-year-old seasons in the past, most notably the undefeated campaign of Artsplace 30 years ago. At the time, Artsplace needed to solidify his place after a so-so sophomore campaign eroded some of the confidence breeders had in him during a vintage 2-year-old season in 1990. Moving to trainer Bob McIntosh for his 4-year-old season, Artsplace traveled North America and went undefeated in 16 starts. It was obviously a different era and mile races were four seconds slower than standards today. Nevertheless, Artsplace's impeccable form in 1992 vindicated the expectations of his connections and allowed him to transition to stallion duty the following year. While it could be said that Bulldog Hanover's 4-year-old campaign was as good as or far superior to that of Artsplace, what is hard to quantify is where his 2 and 3-year-old season matches up with the greats of the past. That's a factor that just can't be ignored since the horse did have a freshman and sophomore campaign and it must be used in the equation to be fair to his predecessors. Having seen horses like Niatross and Somebeachsomewhere through freshman and sophomore campaigns, the two far distance themselves in the direct match with Bulldog Hanover. Niatross was a horse for the ages and not only dominated his rivals for two straight years but shattered the world record by nearly three full seconds when he time-trialed at Lexington's Red Mile in the fall of 1980. Horses have obviously gone much faster since, but none have eclipsed records by more than fifths of a second. What Niatross accomplished is unlikely to be duplicated at any point in the future and that’s with the benefit of knowing his achievement (lopping three seconds off the world’s record) has lasted some 42 years and counting. For those lucky enough to be following the sport in the last 20 years, Somebeachsomewhere stands alone as the best horse to come around. Nothing that Bulldog Hanover did in 2022 can compare with the career of Somebeachsomewhere. It's impossible to look back to 2007-2008 and not consider the entirety of Somebeachsomewhere's racing career. Undefeated as a 2-year-old with victories in the Battle of Waterloo over a half-mile track and then an awesome victory in the Metro later that year. As a 3-year-old Somebeachsomewhere was just as dominant, losing on just one occasion in what many consider the best race of his career, the 2008 Meadowlands Pace. Driver Mark MacDonald, who had competed as a regular on the Woodbine-Mohawk circuit during that period of his career, recalled a run-in or two with Somebeachsomewhere driving horses for the Casie Coleman stable. "I remember the North America Cup elimination," said MacDonald. "I was driving a good horse for Casie named Mucho Sleazy that night. I noticed warming up that Somebeachsomewhere did not look very good on the racetrack before the race. I had heard that he banged up a foot in the paddock and he didn't look himself. I thought if there was ever going to be a time to take a chance to beat him it would have been that night." MacDonald changed his strategy of just trying to make the North America Cup final into a more aggressive stance. "I decided that I would leave the gate hard and push Somebeachsomewhere as hard as I could to get the trip behind him," MacDonald said. A 26 2/5 quarter should have softened up the favorite to some degree, especially if he was not on the top of his game. "It just didn't matter," said MacDonald. "At the head of the stretch he just took off from me as if nothing was bothering him. That's the mark of a great horse." MacDonald concluded that he had not seen a better horse since. Shadow Play, Bulldog Hanover's sire, was a contemporary of Somebeachsomewhere that enjoyed a major campaign of his own during that memorable 2008 season, winning pretty much every race that Somebeachsomewhere was not eligible or did not enter in. Shadow Play did push Somebeachsomewhere to his theoretical limits in the Messenger late in the 2008 campaign over a sloppy track at Yonkers. Shadow Play cut a well-rated pace and forced Somebeachsomewhere to catch him without cover. It was perhaps Shadow Play’s greatest effort, but it wasn't enough to withstand the onslaught of the champion. [DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter] As is generally the case, champions need to prove themselves against horses of reasonable quality. In battling 2- and 3-year-olds of a generation, both Niatross and Somebeachsomewhere defeated two separate groups of horses. Bulldog Hanover's career did not see him tackle the best of his division as a 2-year-old and instead stayed firmly planted on the Ontario Sire Stakes circuit where he distanced himself from eventual Meadowlands Pace winner Lawless Shadow by nine lengths in the Ontario Sire Stakes Super Final, a 1:50 2/5 career best. As a 3-year-old Bulldog Hanover again stayed primarily in Ontario and only raced in Grand Circuit contests like the Somebeachsomewhere and North America Cup. A fourth-place finish in the "Cup" as the 3-5 choice can't be scratched from the memory as if it never took place. Bloodstock agent Bob Boni has been associated with some of the greats from the past and he agreed that it's unfair to lump Bulldog Hanover in with others that had more accomplished 2- and 3-year-old seasons. "There has to be a different category," said Boni. "Those others that raced at 2 and 3 and didn’t race at as 4-year-olds. How do we know what they could have done had they raced?" In some ways Always B Miki’s 2016 season more closely resembles the year Bulldog Hanover had in 2022. Though a 5-year-old at the time, Always B Miki had but four starts during his 4-year-old season, winning the Breeders Crown in 2015. In 2016 Always B Miki’s record saw 12 wins in 18 starts. While the victory total wasn't up to the level of Bulldog Hanover, it's clear from my perspective that the battles Always B Miki had to wage against Wiggle It Jiggleit and Freaky Feet Pete, along with contemporaries Shamballa and All Bets Off, were of more epic proportion than any rivalry associated with Bulldog Hanover in 2022. If there's a way to quantify Bulldog Hanover against horses he never competed against, it may come down to how Noel Daley described his 21-day run. The power on display during that four week period is unmatched against any horse I've seen during some 50 years watching harness racing.