Cumberland, ME — Perennial leading driver Bruce Ranger picked up a natural hat trick on Friday (May 10) at Cumberland, winning three of the final four races on the 12-race card.

And for the native New Englander, it was just another day at the office.

Ranger started his three-race sweep with victory in the featured $7,000 Winners-Over Trot. Scoring from post four with 8-5 second choice Kilauea, the confident teamster was content to let the front-end battles ensue during the early going while taking a seat on the pylons in fifth. Favorite Armagedon Seelster (6-5, Kevin Switzer Jr.) refused to take a seat and powered past J S Peyton (Dan Deslandes) to grab the top in a demanding :27.4 opening panel.

The field was strung out going to the half, with Switzer trying to reel in his trotter on the front end. After a :57.3 half, Kilauea was sent first-over by the paddock draw gate and moved closer to the top, as the leader tried desperately to hold on to his advantage through a 1:27 third stanza. Kilauea flushed several would-be challengers as J S Peyton tipped, forcing Storm Bringer (Aaron Hall) three-wide around the final turn. Ranger used the cover to slingshot around the traffic jam, swinging four-wide and into the homestretch. Down the center of the track, the trotters all had their eyes on the leader, and Ranger swooped them all under the shadow of the wire to prevail by a scant quarter length in 1:59.

A win with top trotter Kilauea at Cumberland kicked off a natural hat trick for driver Bruce Ranger on Friday. Joe Shaw photo.

Armagedon Seelster hung on to be second; Storm Bringer was third.

Owned by Michael Pease and trained by Christopher Hitchcock, Kilauea picked up his third win of the season and now boasts 11 career victories lifetime earnings of $174,489. The 6-year-old son of Kadabra paid $5.40 to win.

Ranger returned to the Blue Seal Feeds winner’s circle in the following two races with Eric Bickmore’s Rambling Ruby ($15.60, 1:58.1) and Ron Patoine’s Broadway Giant ($2.80, 2:00.1).

Bruce Ranger sits 20th on the all-time driving standings with 10,280 wins.

Aside from Ranger’s hat trick, Aaron Hall enjoyed a training and driving double, and reinsman Andy Harrington also grabbed a pair of victories. It was a good day at the windows for First Tracks Cumberland as punters pushed $144,797 through the system.

Racing resumes Saturday (May 11), and the opener features the fifth week of the Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) with six part-time reinsmen vying for bragging rights. The early favorite is Rest Assured (David Zuckerman), listed at 2-1 from the pole. Last week’s winner, Furious Beach (Mike Girouard), has been assigned post six and is pegged at 4-1. Fan favorite Putnam’s Storm (Bob Nadeau) scores from post two. As always, the $5,000 MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed Stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.

The featured $6,000 pacing event is programmed as race eight and carries six of the state’s faster sidesteppers, including the return of Gordon Corey’s Call Me Maverick.

First Tracks Cumberland’s Spring/Summer meet continues through Aug. 3 with racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend during the extended pari-mutuel meeting. Post time is 3:15 p.m. For additional information, visit the track’s website.