Cumberland, ME – Rock Candy utilized his pylon position to secure his supremacy in the $6,400 featured NW5000 Pace on Sunday (June 7) at Cumberland Raceway.
At the start, three horses made a mad dash for the lead with Kevin Switzer Jr. holding Rock Candy steady along the pegs while offsetting the rush of Vel Straight Out (driver McGwire Sowers) and Vel Larry (Mike Stevenson) as the three hard-chargers stormed to the opening panel in a testy :27.2.
Heading into the second turn, Sowers took Vel Straight Out back to third with Stevenson moving forward with Vel Larry in a short-lived pacesetting position. By the time the pacers rounded the bend, Switzer Jr. had re-taken the point with heavy 4-5 favorite Rock Candy and proceeded to dictate the terms of the engagement, backing down the half to :57.4.
As they passed the stands for the first time, Aaron Hall had swung Married Man first-over with Liam’s Ace (Dave Ingraham) enjoying that second up cover. Down the backside the final time, Married Man was parked and stalling, forcing Liam’s Ace three-wide into a 1:27 third station.
Around the final turn, Liam’s Ace took aim on the leader, but Rock Candy was as solid as a rock and drew off like a 4-5 shot should, scoring in 1:56.4 which was a new seasonal best.
Owned and trained by Zach Vickerson, it was the 40th career victory for the 10-year-old son of Pet Rock. His lifetime earnings now exceed $720,000, and he returned $3.60 for the score.
Liam’s Ace was second by 1-3/4 lengths, Vel Larry hung on for the show dough.
Switzer Jr. started the day with victories in both halves of the daily double, scoring with Ali (1:56, $2.20) and Beyond The Past (1:57.1, $2.80). Then he won the fourth with Touch Of Character (1:56.3, $3.20), the aforementioned ninth race feature, and concluded his pentathlon in the finale with Jet Wills (2:00.3, $4).
In a prep for the upcoming opening leg of the Maine Sire Stakes for sophomore pacing fillies Saturday (June 13), several Pine Tree State-bred sophomores battled in the $4,000 Maiden Pace. When the dust settled it was I’m Not Maverick, a 4-year-old full brother for former Maine champion Call Me Maverick, who got his first lifetime victory with Mike Stevenson in the sulky.
Trained by Alison Hynes, and a proud graduate of the Gordon Corey School of Equine Erudition, the diminutive horse with big shoes to fill was eighth, back 12 lengths, at the half and swooped them all to narrowly score in 2:02. The homebred property of Upland Farm, I’m Not Maverick returned $5.60.
With his five wins on Sunday Switzer Jr. vaulted up the driving ranks to second place with 39 wins, just three behind Nick Graffam, who had a pair of wins Sunday and sits atop with 42 on the season. Aaron Hall is in third place with 37.
Racing resumes Saturday (June 13) when First Tracks Cumberland will continue with Saturday-Sunday cards for the remainder of the month of June. During July, the schedule reverts back to Friday-Saturday, with the exception of a three-day run from Friday, July 24, through Sunday, July 26, during the penultimate weekend of the meet.
First post is 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2.
A complete calendar and additional information can be viewed by visiting Firsttrackscumberland.com.