Cumberland, ME – Matt Athearn gave Warrawee Preferred a perfect steer in Friday’s (May 13) eighth race featured $5,500 Open III Trot at Cumberland, scoring by a length in 1:59.

Warrawee Preferred got redemption in this week’s featured Open III Trot at Cumberland on Friday. Stephanie Gray Photo.

Eternal Faith (Drew Campbell) was the first to leave and grab control of the tempo.  Assigned the outside post six, Athearn hustled the 11-year-son of Federal Flex into the cat bird seat and popped out at the head of the stretch to grab the 59th victory of his career.  Little Macabee (Aaron Hall) came first over at the half and made forward progress to be second.  Thruway (Kevin Switzer Jr.) was third.

Owned and trained by Ryan Berry, Warrawee Preferred rewarded his faithful with an $11.00 win ticket.

The $4,800 Open IV Trot was captured by And Up We Go, utilizing a similar two-hole trip for driver Walter Case Jr.  Owned by Bill Fisher and Ralph D’Amelio II and trained by D’Amelio II, the 6-year-old And Away We Go mare paid $13.00 to win.

Watchagonnadoboo got her second victory in a row in the featured Fillies and Mares Pace on Friday at Cumberland. Stephanie Gray Photo.

The top pace of the day went to Watchagonnadoboo, grabbing her second victory in a row for driver Aaron Hall and owner/trainer Eric Bickmore.

Taking the wire-to-wire route, and stopping the timer in 1:57.1, the 5-year-old Artspeak mare paid $4.20 to win by three lengths.

Drew Campbell had three driving wins on the program, and Walter Case Jr. enjoyed two trips to the Blue Seal Feeds winner’s circle.

Matt Athearn looks to make a scene in Saturday’s feature, shooting for three-in-a-row with Obscene Blue Chip in the $5,200 conditioned pace seventh race.  Drawn outside due to his recent success, the 8-year-old son of Western Ideal just eclipsed $200,000 in lifetime earnings in his last start.

The favorite is Miss U Big Mike (post one, Bruce Ranger), installed at 5-2, with local favorite Airspinder (post four Drew Campbell) close behind at 3-1.

There are 10 pacing races on Saturday’s (May 14) card.  Post time for the Spring/Summer meet is now 4 p.m. on both Fridays and Saturdays, with the extended pari-mutuel meeting racing each weekend through July 23.

The final race on both Friday and Saturday features a 200cent Hi-Five (Pentafecta), with a low takeout of 16%.

More information can be found on the track website: https://firsttrackscumberland.com and Facebook page: First Tracks Cumberland.