Cumberland, ME – Wally Watson was very confident in his own Cigars And Port on Sunday (April 19) in the $6,200 featured pace at Cumberland Raceway and drove him accordingly.
Dismissed as the third choice at 4-1, local horseman Watson paid no attention to the tote board as he sent the 9-year-old son of So Surreal right out to the top in the moist conditions. Reaching the first station in :28.4, the veteran teamster reduced the tempo into a :59.1 half, with No Bettor Joy (driven by Mike Stevenson) sitting in a tight pocket.
Kissincaptain (Andy Harrington) was the first to pull from the back of the pack, with Gator Hanover (Nick Graffam) grabbing that cover. With the first-up Kissincaptain stalling down the backstretch, and Gator Hanover being pushed three wide, Aaron Hall tipped the 2-1 lukewarm favorite Arts Flight from the three hole to challenge past the 1:29 third panel.
With No Bettor Joy locked in the box around the final turn, and a fresh Arts Flight pouring it on around the turn, Cigars And Port had the heat to his feet and continued digging gamely down to the wire, keeping the would-be party crashers on the porch. Tripping the rain-soaked timer in 1:59.3 the pacer prevailed by a measured half-length.
Trained by Lisa Watson and owned by Fox Ridge Stable and Wally Watson, it was his 30th lifetime victory, bringing his career earnings to $538,480. Cigars And Port returned $10.40, with No Bettor Joy finishing second, and Arts Flight closing for third.
Kevin Switzer Jr. led the Cumberland driver colony on the 14-race card with four victories, followed by Nick Graffam and McGwire Sowers, who each had three scores. The aforementioned Watson enjoyed a pair of wins.
After nine racing cards over the current spring meet, Nick Graffam remains on top with 27 wins, followed by Aaron Hall with 16 and Kevin Switzer Jr. gaining ground with 15.
Racing resumes at First Tracks Cumberland on Friday (April 24), which marks the start of six weeks of Friday-Saturday racing, through the month of May, after which the calendar reverts back to Saturday-Sunday for the month of June.
First post is always 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2. The lone exception will be Saturday (May 2) when the track will offer wagering on the 152nd Kentucky Derby and the full card live from Churchill Downs, with the first post for live harness racing set for 2:45 p.m.
Replays, a complete calendar, and additional information can be viewed here.