Fryeburg, ME – Two $17,000-plus divisions of 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings in the Maine Sire Stakes soared through the Fryeburg Fair Blue Ribbon Classic on Wednesday (Oct. 7) in their final prep races before the lucrative Pine Tree State-bred finals a few weeks away.
The battle for supremacy among the “Glamour Boys” has continued between Daytoremember and freshman champion Real Horrorshow, who recently took the point lead. Once again, they drew into separate divisions, thus each was able to equally advance their own agenda.
In the $17,209 first division for sophomore male pacers, a non-wagering event, Daytoremember rolled unfettered to the top and led the sidesteppers through an opening station of :29.3, with a more modest 1:01.1 half. With no challenges in sight, Silence Ofdarkness (driven by Kevin Switzer Jr.) remained in the pocket.
Past the half, the first to tip was Itsjustmoney (Andy Harrington), who advanced from fifth to third by the time the field hit the third panel in 1:31.3. Nonetheless, they couldn’t catch Heath Campbell and Daytoremember as the pair gained separation through the final turn and scooted down the lane to win by three lengths in 2:00.3.
The son of Dude’s The Man is owned, trained and was bred by Valerie Grondin, and picked up his ninth seasonal victory with $132,274 earned lifetime. Daytoremember skipped the previous leg at the Cumberland Fair in lieu of the Massachusetts Breeders Stakes, and thus moved into second place in the point standings.
Silence Ofdarkness sat a pocket trip to retain second; Ghost Of Winter (Joey Mosher) finished third.
In the $17,434 second division, it was another standard wire-to-wire frolic by Real Horrorshow and driver Switzer Jr. Leaving swiftly to grab the lead, the son of Dude’s The Man set opening fractions of :30.2 and a tempo reducing 1:02.2. Past the half, Dude’s The Jet (Mosher) pulled the right line from fourth and moved first-over with Deuces Red (Steve Wilson) tipping three-wide down the backside into a 1:32 third panel.
Switzer Jr. still had Real Horrorshow on point with Rebel’s Revenge (Aaron Hall) retaining his pocket position through the final turn and down the stretch. With the pocket sitter advancing, the wire arrived just in time and the pacesetter prevailed by three parts of a length in 2:01.
Capturing his ninth win of the season, and 18th of his career, Real Horrorshow increased his lifetime earnings to $186,204 and is now the leading point earner in his division. Trained by the senior Kevin Switzer, who also co-owns with Kathleen Mofield and Anthony Sivik Jr., he was bred in Maine by Luke and Patricia Varnum.
Nuh Uh (Harrington) finished third.
Looking ahead, the Maine Sire Stakes continues at Fryeburg with the 3-year-old filly pacers on Thursday (Oct. 8), followed by the 3-year-old trotters on Friday (Oct. 9). The series culminates with the $320,000-plus sophomore finals, which take place at Bangor Raceway on the following Saturday, Oct. 17.
For more information about the Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes, follow them on Facebook @MaineBreedersAssociation, or go to MaineSireStakes.com.