Cumberland, ME — Maine-bred and sired 2-year-old pacers re-appeared at Cumberland on Sunday (July 30), where the aptly named Oakleypopsthedeuce acted accordingly to capture the first win of his fledgling career.
Scoring from post two driver ‘double-digit’ Dave Ingraham maintained his position with Oakleypopsthedeuce (8-1) and settled in behind 2-5 favorite Hesjustadelight (Ron Cushing-Heidi Gibbs) to hit the opening panel in a moderate :29.4.
With no movement, and the field in perfect alignment, the freshman pacers hit the half in a relaxed 1:01.2 with Wes’s Challenge (Walter Case Jr.-Marc Tardif) sitting third. Down the backstretch for the final time Thru The Fire (Andy Harrington-Tardif) moved swiftly passing horses first over and was alongside Oakleypopsthedeuce as the field reached the third stanza in 1:31.
Rolling through the turn in the heat of battle Thru The Fire lost some momentum which gave Oakleypopsthedeuce just enough wiggle room to pop out of the two-hole and challenge for the lead. Down the stretch the pair matched strides valiantly, but it was Oakleypopsthedeuce that prevailed by a quarter-length, getting up in the final steps to break his maiden in 2:01.4. Hesjustadelight finished second; Wes’s Challenge was third.
Trained by Kelly Case for owner Tammy Sowers, the son of Deuce Seelster was bred by Irwin Kaplan. Living up to his Gabe Prewitt-given nickname, Dave Ingraham with Oakleypopsthedeuce paid $19.00 to win the $15,123 Maine Sire Stake for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers.
Two $14,000-plus divisions of Maine Sire Stakes for freshman fillies were scheduled for Saturday (July 30), however, one raced and one was postponed until Sunday (July 31).
Ghost Of You took the rescheduled $14,663 event, which was contested before Sunday’s regular program, in a maiden-breaking 2:02.1. Driven by Kevin Switzer Jr. for trainer Tardif and owner-breeder Leighton Property, the 2-year-old daughter of Deuce Seelster made every call a winning won, scoring wire-to-wire to grab the first victory in her six-start career. Zoes Precious RN (Mike Cushing-Sherry Cushing) finished second; My Sweet Revenge (Case-Tardif) was third.
A day earlier Mrs Foxy Roxy picked up her fourth career victory, scoring in 2:05.2 in the $14,486 Maine Sire Stakes for 2-year-old pacing fillies. Also by the sire Deuce Seelster, the Mike Graffam-trained and Nick Graffam-driven distaff has assembled an impressive seasonal summary of four wins and a second in six starts. Who’s Perfect (Heath Campbell-Valerie Grondin) finished second; Gowestyounggrace (Ingraham-Fred Ward Jr.) was third.
This was Mrs Foxy Roxy’s third Maine Sire Stakes victory for owners Bill McElvain Jr., Diane Dunn and Brad Veilleux and breeders Gary and Kristina Hall. She paid $4.40 to win.
The Maine Sire Stakes returns to Cumberland on Saturday (Aug. 5) with all divisions of the 2- and 3-year-old Pine Tree State-bred trotters going postward. The following week the program transitions to the fair circuit with sire stakes racing at Topsham beginning Aug. 7. The third week in August brings the monsters of the midway up to Skowhegan for another full week of Maine harness racing.
For more information about the Maine Sire Stakes, follow their Facebook page @MaineBreedersAssociation, or go to their website at www.mainesirestakes.com.