Ontario-sired Kilauea made his Maine debut in style, taking home the lion's share of the purse in the $9,589 Winners Over Trot on Friday, May 10 at First Track Cumberland.
Scoring from post four with second choice (8-5) Kilauea, driver Bruce Ranger was content to let the front-end battles ensue during the early going while taking a seat on the pylons in fifth. Favoured Armagedon Seelster (6-5, Kevin Switzer Jr.) refused to take a seat and powered past J S Peyton (9-2, Dan Deslandes) to grab the top in a demanding :27.4 opening panel.
The field was strung out going to the half, with Switzer trying to reel in his trotter on the front end. They went by the half in :57.3, and although there was no movement, the pace was a much more manageable second quarter of :29.4.
Down the backside the final time, Kilauea was sent out first over by the paddock draw gate and moved closer to the top, as the leader tried desperately to hold on to his advantage through a 1:27 third stanza. Kilauea flushed several would-be challengers as J S Peyton tipped, forcing Storm Bringer (Aaron Hall) three-wide around the final turn.
Ranger used the cover to slingshot around the traffic jam, swinging four-wide and into the homestretch. Down the centre of the track, the trotters all had their eyes on the leader, and Ranger swooped them all under the shadow of the wire to prevail by a scant quarter length.
The photo finish for win put Kilauea on top of the 1:59 mile, paying $5.40. Owned by Michael Pease and trained by Christopher Hitchcock, the six-year-old son of Kadabra picked up his third win of the season and now boasts lifetime earnings of $188,851. Named for an active volcano on the Island of Hawaii [pronounced kee-lou-ey-ah], Kilauea now has 11 career victories.
Armagedon Seelster hung on to be second and Storm Bringer was third.
Ranger continued to visit the Blue Seal Feeds winner's circle in the following two races with: Eric Bickmore’s Rambling Ruby ($15.60, 1:58.1) and Ron Patoine’s Broadway Giant ($2.80, 2:00.1).
Bruce Ranger sits 20th on the all-time drivers dash win list with 10,280. Aside from Ranger’s hat trick, Aaron Hall enjoyed a trainer-driver double, and reinsman Andy Harrington also grabbed a pair of victories. It was a good day at the windows for First Tracks Cumberland as punters pushed $144,797 through the system.
Racing resumes Saturday, May 11 and the opener features the fifth week of the Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) with six part-time reinsmen vying for bragging rights. The early favourite is Rest Assured (David Zuckerman) listed at 2-1 from the eurorail. Last week’s winner Furious Beach (Mike Girouard) has been assigned post six and is pegged at 4-1. Fan favourite Putnams Storm (Bob Nadeau) scores from post two. As always, the $5,000 MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed Stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.
The featured $6,000 USD pacing event is programmed as race eight and carries six of the state’s faster side-steppers, including the return of Gordon Corey’s Call Me Maverick.
Next week, horse racing enthusiasts can watch and wager on 149th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Considered the “middle jewel” of the Thoroughbred Triple Crown, the race is known as the ‘Run for the Black-Eyed Susans’ with Cumberland hosting the full-card simulcast on Saturday, May 18.
First Tracks Cumberland's Spring/Summer Meet continues with regular racing on Fridays and Saturdays during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 3. Post time is always 3:15 p.m.
(First Tracks Cumberland)