Cumberland, ME – It didn’t take long for former Maine Sire Stakes champion Gowestyounggrace to get her groove back, scoring handily in her seasonal bow on Friday (April 24) at Cumberland Raceway.
The 5-year-old daughter of Western Maverick was a two-time Pine Tree State standout, and she secured a decisive victory Friday after being parked the last half of the mile.
Regular driver Dave Ingraham let the precocious distaff ease off the car and settle into fourth position while 3-2 favorite Urania Blue Chip (driven by Kevin Switzer Jr.) left swiftly from her pylon position to set a :29.2 opening panel.
“Grace” was given her cue at the 1:00.1 second stanza and began her first-over ascent toward the leader. In the short span of the backstretch, she went from fourth to second and at the throat latch of the leader into a 1:29.1 third station.
Poking a head in front around the final turn, and taking full command at the head of the stretch, Gowestyounggrace showed her championship mettle and cruised home a winner by three-parts of a length in 1:59.2.
Owned, trained and bred by Fred Ward Jr. and Sharon Ward, it was the mare’s first victory since October at Fryeburg and increased her career purse total to $239,409. She returned $5.60 in her 22nd lifetime victory.
Second-choice Commander Cathy N (Aaron Hall) finished a hard-charging second; Urania Blue Chip hung on to be third.
Kevin Switzer Jr. enjoyed five victories on the 11-race program, with McGwire Sowers grabbing a hat trick.
Racing resumes at First Tracks Cumberland on Saturday (April 25) with a 12-race card featuring a $7,000 winners-over trot.
The exotic wagering action starts with a Pick-5 in the opener, then the Pick-4 is set for the last four races on the program (races 9-13). The Pick-3 begins in race 10, and all boast a low 16% takeout. In addition, the 20-cent Superfecta is available in races four, six, and eight, along with a Pentafecta in races five and the finale.
This is the first of six weekends of Friday-Saturday racing, which runs through the month of May, after which the calendar reverts back to Saturday-Sunday cards for the month of June.
First post is always 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meet, 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.
A complete calendar and additional information can be viewed at the First Tracks Cumberland website.