A dozen three-year-old pacing fillies came right back to Bangor Raceway on Wednesday, July 2 for the third week of the Maine Sire Stakes for more action-filled harness racing under sunny skies.

In the first $16,338 division, driver Ron Cushing’s Lysiun went from pillar to post as a 1-9 shot should. 

Scoring from post three, the hot and handy daughter of Dudes The Man-B Passionate wasted little time gaining command of the field and set comfortable fractions of :29.2 and 1:00 to the half while enjoying a two-length margin.

McGwire Sowers pulled Wishin For Kisses from sixth to start the outer flow while heading to the half. Just around the five-eighths turn, they got jammed up by a breaker and were forced three-wide into a 1:29.3 third panel while gaining ground in fourth down the backside. Through all of this, Audry (Steve Wilson) had maintained pocket position while Thinkin Bout Life (Kevin Switzer Jr.) was thinking about their challengers while gapped in third.

Down the lane, Lysiun added distance between her and the rest of the field, scoring in hand by five lengths in 1:59.1. Audry finished second and Thinkin Bout Life was third.

Trained by Heidi Cushing, Lysiun earned her third stakes win in a row and is perfect through four seasonal starts with career earnings now at $31,090. The lightly raced filly was bred in Maine by Lynne-Marie Plouffe.

Sent postward as the heavy favourite, she paid $2.20 to win. 

In the second $16,337 division, Chasing Dudes and driver Nick Graffam blasted out for an early lead, followed in the pocket by Whisper Of Luck (Sowers).

They were all chasing the pacesetter Chasing Dudes past a snappy :28.4 opening panel with Glorilla (Ron Cushing) starting a pre-emptive strike in the outer flow down the backside. Her presence forced a headstrong Dudes Pretty Chick (Heath Campbell) to check her momentum while following along the pegs in third. Mike Cushing picked up his brother’s cover second-over in rein to wagering favourite Leanne Marie as the field moved past the 1:00 half while in tight quarters.

As the field paced down the backstretch for the second time, the first-over Glorilla became rough gaited and was losing ground. This forced Leanne Marie three-deep while approaching the 1:30 third stanza.

With Chasing Dudes feeling the pressure from Leanne Marie, things got a little sketchy for the favourite down the stretch as the pocket-sitting Whisper Of Luck bore out while locked on the left line. With all the mayhem left in her wake, Chasing Dudes prevailed by 1-1/4 lengths in 2:00.2, a new lifetime best. Leanne Marie got up for second and Dudes Pretty Chick was third.

Owned by trainer Mike Graffam with partner/breeder Bob Marston, the reigning Maine divisional champion picked up her first win of the year in two tries. The daughter of Dudes The Man-Caviart Caterina lifted her lifetime earnings to $164,621.

She paid $8.20 to win.

Sailor Jerry Reaches Career Milestone

Ever since his very first steps on the raceway, Sailor Jerry has evoked the image of a luxury liner. His sleek, fleet and flashy style was evident from his first baby race win at Scarborough Downs in 2014 -- the first of five consecutive wins, which heralded the beginning of his two-year-old season -- and extending through two seasons of Maine Sire Stakes action, which featured a storied rivalry and fierce competitiveness with fellow stakes classmates, Pembroke Maverick and Pembroke Wildcat.

While unable to dethrone his rivals in Sire Stakes championships, Sailor Jerry’s charted course has out-performed both his juvenile playmates equally in longevity and winner's circle appearances, as the now 13-year-old scored the 50th win of his storied career on Wednesday at Bangor Raceway.

Captained by regular reinsman Nick Graffam, Sailor Jerry rocketed to an early advantage off the gate on Wednesday in a $6,301 conditioned pace, eventually settling into the garden seat after allowing post time favourite Little Power (Heath Campbell) to retake the lead at the quarter-pole. Tracking through accelerating fractions, Graffam kept his charge breathing down Campbell’s neck, before pouncing off the pylons in mid-stretch to post the three-quarter-length margin, timed in a seasonal best 1:56.4.

Owned by trainer Michael Graffam with Christopher Hamilton, the veteran son of Cheyenne Hollywood and Allamerican Virgin secured his third win of the season while elevating his career bankroll to $400,993.

Bred on Graffam’s historic Norton Farm in Falmouth, Maine, Sailor Jerry has spent his entire career under the careful guidance of the expert staff at the bucolic equine oasis. Never venturing far from home, all 243 of his lifetime starts have come over either the half-mile ovals of the state-of-Maine circuit or the quick five-eighths-mile strip at Plainridge Racecourse, both at which he has thrived as an upper conditioned-class -- and sometimes Invitational class -- stalwart.

And as witnessed by Wednesday’s jaunty jog at Bangor, there appears plenty of spunk still left in those cagey old hooves as the New England faithful look forward to the continued success of one of their prized native sons.

In other Bangor news, driver Heath Campbell and trainer Valerie Grondin put on a clinic on Wednesday, scoring three wins from the 12-race program. Included in their scores were Bandolito Blaze ($3), who survived a late charge from Creepin (Kevin Switzer, Jr) at the wire to secure his first win of the season in 1:57.4; Mocha On The Rocks ($59.20), who mounted a deep rally at huge odds to win in 1:58.2; and Pembroke Junebug ($3), who thrived through an extended first-over salvo in 1:58.4.

More Maine Sire Stakes Coming Up

Looking ahead, the Friday, July 4 program at Cumberland Raceway has two Maine Sire Stakes divisions for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings, carded as races one and three, with a special early post time 2:15 p.m.

Due to heavy rain last Saturday, a host of late closing series finals and consolations were postponed and rescheduled for this week. The Saturday, July 5 purses add up to $110,000 USD over the 12-race card, which starts at the regular time of 3:15 p.m. The card includes four finals of various late closing series, as well as three divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for three-year-old trotters. 

(With files from Maine Sire Stakes & Bangor Raceway)