Farmington, ME — Marc Tardif’s heart may have skipped a beat when his here-to-fore undefeated pacer Two Fold Cold made an uncharacteristic miscue in the first turn at the Farmington Fair on Wednesday (Sept. 18) in the Maine Sire Stakes for 3-year-old male pacers, but when the dust settled his seasonally unblemished record remained intact.
Scoring from post three, driver Kevin Switzer Jr. hustled the son of Deuce Seelster out to the top where he likes to be. However, when the tight group of sophomores rounded the first turn the gelding jumped off stride and was taken inside the pylons. Hesjustadelight (Ron Cushing) took command into a :29.3 opening panel, with the Two Fold Cold back on stride and looking to make up ten lengths and get back into contention.
Tardif Taskforce stablemate Arts Flight (Andy Harrington) sat a tight pocket as Hesjustadelight cruised to a :59.4 half with Two Fold Cold gaining ground with every stride. Switzer tipped the divisional point leader first over around the five-eighths pole and began his march toward the top.
As the field reached the third stanza in 1:30, Two Fold Cold was less than three lengths off the top and rolling once again. At the head of the stretch, barreling down the center of the race track, Two Fold Cold hit his stride like his pants were on fire. Arts Flight was gaining ground along the pylons with pacesetter Hesjustadelight trying to fend off the challengers.
Track announcer Mike Sweeney exclaimed, “Two Fold Cold made amends for his costly misstep.”
Owned and trained by Marc Tardif, the gelding picked up his ninth consecutive win, scoring by a neck in 1:58.4. It was his 13th lifetime victory with his bankroll now reaching $116,919. He was bred in Maine by Gary and Kristina Hall. Hesjustadelight hung on for second; Arts Flight was third.
In the other non-wagering event it was another Kristina Hall-bred, Deuce Seelster-sired pacer that was victorious. Justcallmebuck led a wire-to-wire rout over the Farmington oval, scoring by 8-3/4 lengths in 2:00. Also owned by Kristina Hall, the four-time winner is trained by Gary Hall and was piloted to victory by Heath Campbell. Wes’s Challenge (Walter Case Jr.) finished second; Stretch It Donn (Harrington) was third.
The pair of non-wagering events of the Maine Sire Stakes for 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings carried $19,000-plus purses.
The Maine Sire Stakes resumes at the Farmington Fair with harness racing Thursday (Sept. 19) with two divisions of 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings, and continues through Friday (Sept. 20).
Looking ahead, four divisions of the Freshman Finals will be held at the Cumberland Fair on Saturday (Sept. 28).
For more information about the Maine Sire Stakes, go to their website at www.mainesirestakes.com.