Cumberland, ME — The sharp mare Vel Miss Taylor had things her own way on Friday (May 30) at Cumberland Raceway, holding off a handful of challengers and securing her fifth straight score in a $5,000 conditioned pace for fillies and mares.
Leaving from post four in line to McGwire Sowers, the 4-year-old daughter of Ponder was stung to the first quarter in :28 by Cash Crazy Express (driven Shawn Thayer). From there, Sowers was able to control the tempo more to his mare’s liking. After Vel Miss Taylor enjoyed a :59 half-mile mark breather, the outer flow started to materialize with Maggie At Bat (Aaron Hall) first-over and pushing the pacesetter to a swifter 1:27.4 third panel.
Around the final turn, Gowestyounggrace (Dave Ingraham) shot three-wide from sixth to march toward the wire with the pack. A tight group of four horses engulfed the leader in the lane and tried valiantly to snap Vel Miss Taylor’s streak, however, the mare dug in gamely and outlasted her foes by a neck in a seasonal best 1:57.3. Maggie At Bat and Gowestyounggrace finished in a dead heat for second.
Autym Robinson trains Vel Miss Taylor for owner and co-breeder Mo Coo Inc. This was the mare’s tenth seasonal victory and fifth in a row, increasing her career bankroll to $108,974 with 27 wins. She paid $4.60 to win as the 6-5 co-favorite.
Former Maine champion Two Fold Cold grabbed Friday’s featured $5,500 pace in a seasonal best 1:56, scoring from off the pace for driver Dave Ingraham over Beyond The Past and Forrest Blu. The 4-year-old son of Deuce Seelster is trained by Kelly Case for owner Marc Tardif and picked up his second win of the year while increasing his lifetime earnings to $191,376. He paid $5.20 to win.
Ingraham enjoyed four wins on the program, including a score with 16-1 long shot Dynamical Tad in the 10th, paying $35.00 to win. Trainer Kelly Case, Dave’s wife, helped to add to that total with Marc Tardif’s Deal With It Roman, who won in 1:57.4 and paid $9.40.
Racing at Cumberland continues on Saturday (May 31) with 11 races, 10 of which are Spring Pacing Series events. There are three $6,500 divisions of the Baxter and three $6,000 splits of the Rockland, which boast $12,500 finals next Saturday (June 7). In addition, there are four $4,000 divisions of the Moosehead, which has a $1,000 purse bump every week for the next three weeks, culminating with a $12,500 final on June 28.
Hunter Lofthus is back to defend his leaderboard status in this week’s $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) event, slated as race two. Lofthus drives Art Of Endurance, who has been pegged as the 2-1 morning-line choice, from pylon position for trainer Benson Merrill.
With a new twist this week, trainer and family patriarch Philip ‘Bo’ Sowers tries his hand at driving in the amateur ranks with 15 year-old Machtu N. The veteran campaigner amassed $534,637 in career earnings with 65 victories.
The MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed stores of North Falmouth and Windham, Maine.
The action kicks off at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday with a plethora of exotic wagers. The Pick-5 begins with the third race, a Pick-4 and Pick-3 are offered toward the tail end of the program, and a High-5 Pentafecta ($544.51 carryover) is offered in the final race — all with low 16% takeouts.
Live video and replays can be found on the track’s website on the Live Racing / Video Replays tab.
First Track’s Cumberland spring/summer meet offers live harness racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend. First post is slated for 3:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2.