The Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) was back in action on Sunday, Nov. 24 at Cumberland Raceway, with former national champ ‘Too Tough’ Todd Whitney blasting to a wire-to-wire victory with the odds-on favourite, Nagle.

Under bright sunny skies with a brisk breeze, the 1-2 public choice left swiftly when the gate sprung amidst a flurry of activity into the first turn of the $5,556 race. After avoiding the fracas, Whitney and Nagle led the MADC field into a :29.1 opening panel and remained in command by a comfortable margin. Lilys Penelope (Joe Burke) tracked along in the two-hole, with Cache All The Way (Benson Merrill) sitting anxiously in third.

Merrill tipped Cache All The Way at the three-eighths pole, with Bass Player (Marianna Monaco) gapping second-over while heading to the 1:00 half-mile marker.  Around the five-eighths turn, Merrill ducked into the gap left by a fading Lilys Penelope leaving Bass Player with no cover. While moving to the 1:28.4 third panel, Ryan Berry pulled 29-1 longshot Easteriffic three-deep around the stalling outer flow and grabbed the three-hole before the leaders hit the final turn.

From the head of the stretch on homeward, Whitney was sitting chilly and steered Nagle to an easy three-length victory in 2:00.1.  Easteriffic got up in the final strides to be second and Cache All The Way was third.

Trained by Chris Lefebvre for owner Mlefevre Racing, the eight-year-old son of Dali grabbed his 34th career victory. He paid $3 to win.

The day's top $7,639 conditioned pace was captured by Bare Bone in 1:59.1. Driven by Walter Case Jr. for trainer Marianna Monaco and owner Room4040 LLC Stables, the three-year-old son of Lather Up earned the ninth win of his debut season. He paid $3.40 to win.

Racing resumes on Saturday, Nov. 30 at First Tracks Cumberland.

(With files from First Tracks Cumberland)