When Maine’s top trotters tussled in the $9,589 Winners Over on Friday, May 8 at First Tracks Cumberland the co-favourites used two completely different tactics while chasing pay dirt.
As the wings on the Wes Brown starting gate folded the 3-1 co-favourite Big Al M (Zach Vickerson) was met with an inside challenge by To My Credit (Alex MacDonald) who blasted out to a blistering :28.3 opening panel. Vickerson relented and ducked into the two-hole, which was about five lengths in front of the other co-favourite Brutalizer (Andy Harrington) who was sitting chilly in fourth.
Harrington wasted little time vaulting his charge into the outer flow as the pair were rolling first up, which was well before the 1:01.3 half-mile marker. As the pacesetter was busy reducing the tempo, the rest of the field was packed tightly and in hot pursuit with Big Al M locked in the box around the paddock turn and Top Down (Mike Stevenson) second over.
While the pacesetting To My Credit was grinding it out on the front end gamely, Brutalizer was inching closer and closer to the top as the field brushed down the backstretch into a swifter 1:31.3 third panel. Even though Brutalizer may have lost a little momentum in the final turn, he quickly regained his speed as the field turned for home and was able to track down the leader and prevail by half of a length in 2:01.3. To My Credit finished second, and Top Down was third.
Trained by Sara Harrington for owner Kyle Gibbs, Brutalizer picked up his third win of the season and 13th lifetime victory, increasing his career spoils to $202,020. The five-year-old son of Alarm Detector - Princess Serena returned $8 to win.
Leading reinsman Nick Graffam had three wins on the 12-race program.
Racing continues on Saturday, May 9 with a 10-race program and is the second half of the third of six weekends of Friday-Saturday racing, which runs through the month of May. After which the calendar reverts back to Saturday-Sunday cards for the month of June. First post is always 12:15 p.m. (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through Aug. 2.
(with files from First Tracks Cumberland)