Bangor, ME — To no one’s surprise, the heavyweights in the four sophomore divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes took home the championship belts in their respective $100,000-plus finals on Saturday (Oct. 11) at Bangor Raceway.
In the first $101,174 Maine Sire Stakes final for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings, Marc Tardif’s star pacer Massive Speed had maintained a perfect record in the state of Maine throughout his sophomore career. The son of Dude’s The Man did not disappoint as the 1-9 favorite was send to the front by regular pilot Aaron Hall and never looked back.
Setting well-rated fractions of :28 and :59.1 to a soft half, the outer flow began with Ridgecrest Dan (John Nason) while This Dudes Perfect (Heath Campbell) sat a pocket trip as the field passed the midway marker.
Hall managed the clock perfectly with the former freshmen champion, as he let out a notch while keeping the wolves at bay into a 1:28.1 third panel. Down the stretch his lead was never challenged as Massive Speed picked up his 12th seasonal victory in 1:57, equaling his lifetime best by a measured length.
The two-time Maine finals winner is owned by Leighton Property and was bred by Laurie Harding, returning $2.20. The top colt now has 22 lifetime wins and $265,318 in earnings.
Ridgecrest Dan finished second; This Dudes Perfect was third.
In the $100,876 Maine Sire Stakes final for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters, the event pitted this year’s top male trotter, Liberty’s Wildcard, against last year’s freshmen champion Whatawonder.
The skirmish did not disappoint as Whatawonder (Ken Watson) scurried out for an early lead from post six and hit the opening panel in :30.1. Driver Kevin Switzer Jr. was forced to duck Liberty’s Wildcard into third position as the field rolled past the quarter, but was out and rolling first over by the three-eighths marker and was challenging for the lead at the 1:01.1 half.
The son of Noble Venture was given a brief respite along the cones around the five-eighths turn, but was back out and trotting gamely to take over for the pacesetter by the 1:30.3 third station.
Down the lane Whatawonder tried zealously to catch the 1-9 favorite, but to no avail as Liberty’s Wildcard prevailed by three parts of a length in 2:00.3, a new lifetime best.
Trained by Marc Tardif for owner Leighton Property, it was the 12th seasonal victory for the divisional champion, returning $2.20. He was bred by Jerry Stratton Jr. and increased his lifetime earnings to $176,520.
Just Foolin (Heath Campbell) finished third.
Femme fatale divisional leader Barbella was put to the test in the $101,122 Maine Sire Stakes final for 3-year-old trotting fillies. Driver Kevin Switzer Jr. put the daughter of Whataworkout out on point through the early fractions of :29.4, but the ultra-soft 1:01.4 half had the field stacked up and tasting blood in the water.
While Ivan Davies settled Little Shot into the pocket, Twisted Fate (Mike Cushing) was out and rolling first over as the field passed the stands for the first time. Switzer kept the challenger at bay through the 1:32 third panel as the pair exchanged glances down the backstretch for the final time, with the aggressor poking a head in front momentarily.
However, as the field entered the long, far turn Switzer hit the accelerator and sent the heavy favorite on a path of persistence, opening up on the pack with every stride. The duo hit the wire in 2:02, winning by a comfortable 4-3/4 lengths.
Trained by Ken Anderson for owner Robert Kakian, it was the 11th seasonal victory and eighth in a row for the divisional standout, increasing her lifetime bankroll to $173,629. She was bred by the late Mike Andrew and paid $2.20 to win.
Twisted Fate finished second; Little Shot (Ivan Davies) was third.
The concluding Maine stakes race of the twilight card was the $101,153 final for 3-year-old pacing fillies.
An evenly matched field led to a pair of relative co-favorites with divisional leader Leanne Marie (Mike Cushing) set as the 6/5 slight second choice behind Chasing Dudes (Nick Graffam) the public’s choice at 4/5.
As she has been known to do, Leanne Marie went right to the top and played catch me if you can, leading the field to a :29.2 opening panel. Whisper Of Luck (Andy Harrington) got away second, with Chasing Dudes giving chase in third.
The fillies passed the half in 1:01.1 with little movement in the top trio, however, down the backside Chasing Dudes went from third to within a length of the leader in the blink of an eye, forcing a 1:30.2 third stanza.
Stacked up around the turn, the pair began their final furlongs in a heated battle for divisional bragging rights. Graffam kicked out the ear plugs at the top of the lane, and looked for all he could muster out of the daughter of Dude’s The Man. Nonetheless, it was Mike Cushing driving Leanne Marie that prevailed along the pylons by a half-length in 1:59.3.
Trained, co-owned and co-bred by Charlene ‘Sherry’ Cushing with partners Pamela Smith and Jane DiPompo, the daughter of Artistic Fella picked up her ninth win of the season, and fifth in a row while increasing her lifetime earnings to $171,986.
The winner returned $4.60. Whisper Of Luck finished third.
The Maine Sire Stakes finals represent the culmination of years of hard work and dedication of behalf of dozens of industry stakeholders, including, but not limited to the owners, breeders, trainers, drivers and caretakers of these equine athletes.
Not only do these horses represent a significant individual and collective investment in harness racing and agriculture in the state of Maine, but the peripheral revenue generated by the truck and trailer sales and maintenance, fuel suppliers, feed companies, hay producers, tack shops, blacksmiths, farm owners, and racetracks that give them a place to compete, generously exceeds seven figures annually.
For more information about the Maine Sire Stakes, follow their Facebook page @MaineBreedersAssociation, or go to their website: https://www.mainesirestakes.com