Skowhegan, ME — The seven day race meet at the Skowhegan State Fair came to a glorious conclusion on Saturday (August 16), highlighted by the $15,000 renewal of the Hight Invitational, prominently featured on the highly competitive 13-race program.
And prominent among the Hight invitees was Two Fold Cold, a four-year-old Maine-bred, who continues to make a name for himself around the entirety of the New England circuit by stamping his impression on the major Invitationals held in the great northeast.
Fresh off a new track record (1:53.1) set in the $25,000 Pine Tree Invitational at First Tracks Cumberland and a scantly beaten runner-up placing in Plainridge Racecourse’s $75,000 Bert Beckwith Invitational, Two Fold Cold, conspicuous on the program page, was dispatched as the prohibitive 1-5 post time favorite as the field strained at the bit behind Wes Brown’s starting gate.
Confidently handled by veteran reins man, David Ingraham, the fan favorite broke fourth from the gate, content to ping the pegs as the two-time Maine Sire Stakes champion, Call Me Maverick (Michael Stevenson), aggressively gained the lead.
Applying the harness racing equivalent of Ali’s famed “Rope a Dope” strategy, Stevenson quickly deadened the pace, leading the invitational class field to a pedestrian opening quarter of :29.1 and through a decelerating clip of :59 to the half.
Like Forman in Zaire, Ingraham was left with no option but to attack, pulling Two Fold Cold into battle mode just prior to the half as Stevenson allowed his charged to vacate the ropes. The tempo picked up as the tandem entered the third turn with the strategy nearly paying dividends as Two Fold Cold appeared a bit rough gaited passing the 5/8ths marker. But with pugilistic patience, Ingraham shrugged off the glancing blow, steadied his charge, and prepared to answer the bell for the fourth and final round.
After reaching the three-quarter-marker in a blazing 1:26.3, the combatants stood nose-to-nose and toe-to-toe as they duked it out around the final turn with both warriors giving their all for ultimate glory. But unlike Forman in the Rumble in the Jungle, Ingraham persevered over Stevenson’s strategy, steering Two Fold Cold toward the championship belt, two lengths the best, in a sterling 1:55 clocking.
Call Me Maverick settled for the runner-up share while Vel Let’s Roll South (McGwire Sowers) rallied for third.
“The sun over Skowhegan at that time of day can make a horse think they see something around 5/8ths” explained Ingraham, “He steadied quickly though and reengaged with Mike’s horse right away. This colt has as quick a brush for a quarter as you could ever ask for and he certainly brought his A-game today”.
“He was sent up to us in April after Doug Gray qualified him at Bell” trainer Kelly Case said, “He’d been sick earlier in the year after having a reaction to something, lost most of his hair, and the vet actually recommended putting him down. (Owner) Mark (Tardif), nursed him back though and we certainly keep a watchful eye on him constantly, but the recovery is complete and he’s racing better than ever right now”.
A perfect 12 for 12 as a three-year-old, the now four-year-old son of Deuce Seelster currently boasts 21 lifetime wins and has elevated his career bankroll past the quarter-million dollar mark to $252,326 with the Hight victory.
And after claiming wins in the first two major invitationals along the state-of-Maine circuit, Two Fold Cold figures to be one of the leading contenders for the upcoming Windsor Fair Invitational to be held on their Labor Day program.
In other Skowhegan news, driver Kevin Switzer, Jr continued his fairground mastery on Saturday, scoring seven wins over the thirteen race program. The feat marked the third time in Switzer’s career where the teamster has recorded seven victories. The first came early in his career at Scarborough Downs and then again on Skowhegan’s closing Saturday card in 2014.
Switzer ran away with the 2025 Skowhegan driver’s championship with 22 weeklong wins, 12 more than his closest rival, Heath Campbell.
On the trainer’s side of the equation, Valerie Grondin claimed top honors with six Skowhegan scores, one more than both Ryan Berry and Michelle Lefebvre who battled for the championship right down wire.
After the excitement of Skowhegan, Maine’s fairground circuit will take a six-day breather until setting up camp at the great Windsor Fair. Windsor’s nine-day race meet commences on Saturday (August 23) and will continue on a daily basis through Labor Day with the exception of Wednesday (August 27) which will be dark. Weekend post times will be at 1:00 pm (EDT) while the weekday cards will commence at 3:00 pm.
For those not able to come to the track, wagering on the Windsor Fair will be available on most major wagering platforms including Hollywood Races at www.hollywoodraces.com as well as at all state of Maine off track betting parlors.
The video for Windsor’s races will be live-streamed on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@mainefairharnessracing and the live audio of Skowhegan’s cards will be available along the online radio network of Mix Maine Media at The Mix 107.9 FM, True Country 93.5 FM, and THE Score 1160 AM as well as online at www.mixmaine.com