Cumberland, ME – They couldn’t catch local favorite Airspinder as driver Wally Watson guided the $4,800 feature winner to a wire-to-wire victory at Cumberland on Friday (Dec. 1).

Airspinder (Wally Watson) soars coast-to-coast on Friday at Cumberland. Joe Shaw photo.

Scoring from post three, Watson fed the 7-year-old son of No Spin Zone plenty of racetrack when the wings folded, while being pushed to a swift :28.2 opening panel, with Reys N A Ruckus (Garrett Mosher) ultimately conceding and ducking into the two-hole.

The first to move was the sophomore pacer So Rock N’ Roll (Kevin Switzer Jr.) who helped urge the pack to the :58.4 half-mile marker. As the field straightened out down the backside, So Rock N’ Roll looked the 8-5 favorite Airspinder right in the eye, with 21-1 longshot Jaxson R Brown (Nick Graffam) poised to pounce second over at the 1:27.2 third stanza.

Announcer Mike Cushing exclaimed “Airspinder is a tough horse to pass” as Watson urged his charge through the turn, thwarting the advances of So Rock N’ Roll. With the latter horse fading, Jaxson R Browne made his thrust for the wire, but could not catch the victorious Airspinder.

Tripping the timer in 1:57.3, Airspinder prevailed by three parts of a length and paid $5.40 to win his seventh race of the year. Earning $31,058 this season, he is owned and trained by David Sawyer. Jaxson R Browne finished second; So Rock N’ Roll hung on to be third.

Both Bruce Ranger and Dan Deslandes enjoyed driving doubles on the nine-race card, and conditioner Benson Merrill harnessed a pair of winners: Southwind Terror (2:00.2; $6.40) and Ultimate Flyer N (1:59.2; $10).

Racing continues at First Tracks Cumberland for the Saturday (Dec. 2) and Sunday (Dec. 3) programs, with a dozen races each day. There is a $710.75 carryover in the High-5 Pentafecta in Saturday’s finale. First post is 11 a.m.

Horsemen are reminded that Cumberland’s Winter Late Closing Series starts next week, with the potential for more than $150,000 in purses being offered. For more information, please go to: https://firsttrackscumberland.com/horsemen/

Racing at Cumberland continues three days each week through Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) 2023. Post time remains 11 a.m.

For more information visit the track’s website: https://firsttrackscumberland.com/

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