The Maine Sire Stakes two-year-old finals featured a pair of unbeaten youngsters with a few surprises in the other divisions on Saturday, Sept. 28, the closing day of the 152nd Cumberland Fair.

Whatawonder cruised to an easy victory in the $102,369 Maine Sire Stakes final for freshman male trotters to maintain his perfect rookie record.

Leaving from the outer most post position six, driver Ken Watson wasted no time to get his talented charge to the top. Dropping a :29.4 opening panel, which was his fastest ever, the gelding proceeded to carry his four-length advantage through the remaining splits of 1:01.3 and 1:31.3. Looking stronger with every stride, the son of Whataworkout strode home in 2:02.4, a new lifetime best and a divisional track record. Libertys Wildcard (Kevin Switzer Jr.) finished second and the winner's stablemate Katahdin Victor (Wally Watson) was third.

Owned and bred by Barbara Lawson, Whatawonder earned his 10th straight victory while paying $3.40 to win. He is trained by Lisa Watson.

In the $102,734 Maine Sire Stakes final for two-year-old male pacers, the undefeated Massive Speed did not disappoint as the heavy 2-5 favourite.

Thrusting out from behind the starting car, Massive Speed and driver Walter Case Jr. smartly let early speedster Race Me Celtic (Drew Campbell) assume command, albeit briefly. A give-and-go release gave Massive Speed the top again just past the :27.4 swift opening panel.

At the :58.4 half-mile marker, a cavalry charge of side-steppers were stacked up three-high as they passed the stands the second time, with Jax Attack (Aaron Hall) first-over and Gracies Tough Guy (Dave Ingraham) applying pressure alongside three-wide. While Massive Speed was on top by three at the 1:28 third stanza, Race Me Celtic was gapping his cover in the pocket with Gracies Tough Guy first-over and looking to duck to the pylons.

As the field turned for home, Massive Speed had gained considerable separation on the rest of the field. Only Gracies Tough Guy had stayed within two lengths of the son of Dudes The Man, as Case held his whip high while crossing the wire and broke the divisional track record with the 1:58.2 triumph. Race Me Celtic finished third.

Trained by Marc Tardif for owner Leighton Property, Massive Speed also earned his 10th consecutive victory and paid $2.80 to win. The colt was bred in Maine by Laurie Harding.

Little Shot took a big shot and prevailed in the $102,589 final for two-year-old trotting fillies. Driven by conditioner and co-owner Ivan Davies, the daughter of Noble Venture was sent right out for the lead from their pylon position at the start and proceeded to make every call a winning one, tripping the timer in 2:04.1. Barbella (Bruce Ranger) finished second and Race Me Bombshell (Drew Campbell) was third.

Little Shot was the second choice on the board and paid $7.40 to win while improving her record to 2-3-0 in 10 starts.  Also co-owned by Shirley Hutchins, she was bred by Dr. Douglass Hutchins and Paul Kinnear. 

In the $102,461 Maine Sire Stakes final for freshman pacing fillies, Leanne Marie crossed the wire first for driver Mike Cushing. However, the judges determined that Leanne Marie interfered with Chasing Dudes and Nick Graffam in mid-stretch, therefore the latter filly was declared the winner, with the former being placed second. Audry (Steve Wilson) finished third.

Chasing Dudes, a daughter of Dudes The Man with a record now reading 4-3-1 in 10 starts, is trained by Mike Graffam for owner/breeder Bob Marston. She paid $7.80 to win.

The day’s fastest race was the $13,514 Winners Over class and Lifes A Puzzle triumphed for driver Kevin Switzer Jr. in 1:54.4.  Trained by Alison Hynes for owner Richard Humphrey, the four-year-old son of Lazarus N is another successful graduate of the Gordon Corey Institute of Equine Erudition.

The day also included a plethora of $13,514 Pop-Up Series finals, which were well received by the large crowd of fans and bettors on hand for the final day of the fair.

(With files from First Tracks Cumberland)