Mike Stevenson won the $4,500 co-feature at Cumberland on Wednesday (Dec. 1) with Nets Of Passion, putting himself just four wins away from 2,000 lifetime driving victories.
Scoring from post five, Stevenson left alertly with the five-year-old son of Net Ten EOM and pushed the gelding through brisk fractions of :28.2, :59.3 and 1:28 to draw off and win by over three lengths in 1:58. Son Of Plato (John Nason) finished second; So It Goes (Nick Graffam) was third.
Nets Of Passion, who recorded his seventh victory of the season for owner-trainer Steve LaCasse, paid $3.00 to win.
Stevenson, a New Brunswick native, has settled in Maine and makes Cumberland his home base and has several drives on the next racing program, scheduled for Saturday (Dec. 4). Entering his fifth decade as a reinsman, Stevenson recently eclipsed $8 million in lifetime purses won, with $770,563 earned this season. Some of his success this year can be attributed to the Gordon Corey-trained three-year-old pacer Call Me Maverick, a homebred son of Western Maverick who dominated Maine’s glamour boys division and earned $153,908 with 11 wins in 15 starts this season with Stevenson at the controls.
The other $4,500 co-feature was won by Plainridge invader Cash Vaughan ($6.00) and trainer-driver Todd O’Dea. Leaving from post two, O’Dea was content to let Through The Fence (Walter Case Jr.) and Im A Clown (Ranger) tussle for the lead going into the first turn. While sitting third with little or no pressure to the three-quarters, O’Dea tipped Cash Vaughan out and around Im A Clown, who was sitting second. By the final turn, Cash Vaughn looked Through The Fence right in the eye and went right on by to win in 1:59.1 for owner Eric Dickson. Through The Fence finished second; Come On Raggs (Aaron Hall) got up for a close third.
The rest of the day belonged to Dan Deslandes, who won three races, and Andrew Harrington, who won two events on the eight-race card.
Racing resumes on Saturday (Dec. 4) with a full 11-race program which begins at 11 a.m. The card features three separate classes for open pacers as well as three divisions of the Maine Amateur Driving Club, which is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.
(First Tracks Cumberland)