Bangor, ME — J J S Jet, a mainstay along the state of Maine harness racing circuit for the last ten years, charged to his 60th career win on Wednesday (Sept. 13) at Bangor Raceway with regular pilot Drew Campbell.
The win, timed in 2:00.2, was the first of the season for the 14-year-old son of Jereme’s Jet-Northern Desire and came in the aggressive fashion that his fans have come to expect from one of Maine’s standout performers of the past decade.
After grabbing second-over cover just before the half, J J S Jet appeared to be fading as he gapped that cover approaching the three-quarter pole when suddenly the horse to his inside went off-stride. The commotion seemed to reinvigorate the old campaigner who suddenly regained vigor and once again took chase toward the leaders.
“He had lost contact with his cover when that horse went off-stride” recalled driver Campbell. “I grabbed him pretty hard to get him away from the trouble and I guess he took that as a sign to get back up on the bit and get back into the race. He was going so strong at that point that I just tipped him three wide around the turn and he just kept going.”
J J S Jet was first off the final turn and charged like a champion through the muddy Bangor stretch. And with the heart of the champion that he is, he refused to let anyone pass him as he headed for the finish line as he had so many times before.
Good horses just know how to get things done.
“He’s feeling pretty good right now so I’ll probably race him at Fryeburg and Cumberland a few more times, maybe bring him back up here to Bangor,” Campbell continued. “He’ll tell me when he’s had enough.
“He joined my barn in 2014 and has done nothing but good things for me and his former co-owner, Bruce Maxwell, ever since. He’s been a pleasure to race, he’s come up huge in some of Maine’s biggest races, and when he’s though, he has a nice retirement waiting for him with great people in Windsor (Maine). He deserves the best after all he’s accomplished.”
J J S Jet has quite a resume to brag about. He holds the state of Maine pacing record of 1:51.2 taken in the 2017 Windsor Fair Invitational. He’s the the two time winner (2015 and 2017) of the Mountain Skipper Invitational at Fryeburg Fair; the winner of the 2017 Hight Memorial Invitational at Skowhegan State Fair (1:53); the winner of the 2018 Paul Bunyan Invitational (1:54.4) at Bangor Raceway; and the winner of the 2018 Mid-Summer Classic (1:52.3) at Scarborough Downs where he will forever be enshrined as the all age track record holder.
Ten years of excellence pass by so fast but during his heyday, no star shone brighter along the Pine Tree circuit than J J S Jet.
In other Bangor news, driver Walter Case Jr. continued his late season mastery at The Queen City Oval, steering three winners down victory lane. Prominent among his winners was Twin B Impressive, another 14-year-old veteran, who secured the 50th win of his career for The Starter’s Call LLC and trainer Mary Ranger.
Live harness racing resumes on Friday morning at Bangor Raceway with post time scheduled at 11 a.m. (EDT). This ten-race program, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been moved up to Friday morning to escape the clutches of Hurricane Lee which is bearing down on New England this weekend. Friday’s card will feature two $14,486 splits of Maine Sire Stakes action for the 2-year-old filly pacing division.