Although U.S. Trotting Association rules state that most horses cannot race past the age of 14, no one told Forward Bliss.
The aged son of Blissfull Hall won his second Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) event of the season for owner/trainer/driver Adam Gray on Saturday (July 9) at Cumberland. In fact, in his last nine starts Forward Bliss has three wins and has not missed a cheque.
Gray agrees that the horse is something special, “He just amazes us every week. ‘Bliss’ always give his best effort and we have grown very fond of him.”
Having amassed 36 victories in 361 lifetime starts, Forward Bliss is kind of an elder statesman around the Cumberland Fairgrounds. Racing Secretary Mark Reynolds noted, “You would be hard pressed to find a horse with more starts on his card.”
‘Bliss’ earned $150,504 lifetime and has been 1-2-3 in 153 starts, which is an on-the-board rate of 42 per cent. But Gray doesn’t concern himself with statistics; he just wants to keep racing the horse as long as he can.
“He will let us know when he is ready to retire,” Gray noted. “But every morning he is ready to put his pants on and go to work!”
Gray is the eighth owner of Forward Bliss, a horse so well-travelled that his three-year-old record of 1:53.2z denotes the timeworn Virginia Standardbred facility Colonial Downs, which is a 1-1/4-mile track that closed to harness in 2014.
Taking Saturday's Maine Amateur Driving Club event in 1:59.1, Forward Bliss paid $16.20 to win. Lightupbullville (Zack ‘the Sherriff’ Gray) finished second and Led Schneppelin (Jason Bertolini) was third. The MADC is sponsored by the local Blue Seal Feed Stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.
Two Maine Standardbred Breeders Stakes (MSBS) were contested, with the first $10,959 two-year-old trotting filly event held before the regular card. Another Adventure stayed flat and took home the lion’s share for trainer Marc Tardif and owner Leighton Property. She was capably driven by Kevin Switzer Jr.
The first pari-mutuel $11,289 MSBS race was captured by Stealin Money, a two-year-old trotting son of Pembroke Slugger, bred, co-owned and trained by Mike Graffam and driven by Nick Graffam. Stealin Money gave some to his backers, paying $29.20 to win following miscues by several wagering favourites.
The $6,500 Open 2-3 Trot finished with a dead heat for win between Mister Muscle (Bruce Ranger, $4) and Caulfield (Kevin Switzer Jr., $8.60) in 1:58.1, the fastest dead heat trotting race in the history of Cumberland harness racing.
Bruce Ranger won three races on the program. Aaron Hall, Kevin Switzer Jr. and Nick Graffam all enjoyed driving doubles. Bruce Ranger leads the drivers’ colony with 35 victories. There are two more weeks (four cards) of racing for Drew Campbell (31), Kevin Switzer Jr. (30) and Matt Athearn (29) to take a shot at the title.
Racing resumes Friday, July 15 with post time at 4 p.m.
(With files from First Tracks Cumberland)