Quick Fun N made quick work of the featured pace at Cumberland on Saturday (May 14), wiring the field to score in 1:56. The 10-year-old son of Real Desire picked up his third straight victory and lowered his seasonal mark by a few ticks.
Veteran reinsman Ron Cushing wasted no time getting Quick Fun N to the party. Scoring from post five, Cushing put the bay gelding right on the front of the conga line and never relinquished the lead. Posting well-rated fractions of :29, :59.1 and 1:27.2 with a final quarter of :28.3, the Joey Mosher-trained New Zealand bred was well within himself in ‘out-dancing’ the field by five lengths.
Owned by Lillian Bellmore, Quick Fun N paid $12.60 while winning for the 24th time in his career. Wagering favourite Airspinder finished second and Obscene Blue Chip was third.
Matt Athearn provided Rys Red Rocket with a perfect trip to score in 1:56.1 in the fourth race co-feature. Leaving from pylon position, and content to let Some Gold (Dan Deslandes) grab the lead, Athearn waited until the three-quarter pole to tip the five-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach. During the stretch drive, Some Gold faded to third, while favourite Readyfortheladys (Aaron Hall) found another gear and fought hard to be second.
Rys Red Rocket paid $7.20 to win for owner/trainer Don Richards.
Ron Cushing, Matt Athearn and Bruce Ranger all enjoyed driving doubles on the Saturday program. Dan Deslandes and Kevin Switzer Jr. remain tied for first place in the drivers standings with 15 wins apiece. Matt Athearn is in third place with 14 victories. The leading conditioner is Benson Merrill with nine wins, followed by trainers Chris Lefebvre with eight and Lisa Watson with seven.
Racing resumes on Friday (May 20) at First Tracks Cumberland. Post time for the live spring/summer meet is now 4 p.m. on both Fridays and Saturdays, with the extended pari-mutuel meeting racing each weekend through July 23.
Fans and bettors can watch and wager on the 147th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday (May 21) from the grandstand at Cumberland.
(With files from First Tracks Cumberland)