Horsewoman Valerie Grondin sent two of her youngsters to the Skowhegan Fair on Tuesday (Aug. 16) evening and both trotting freshmen came home with the rewards.
Two $18,000-plus divisions of the Maine Breeders Stakes (MSBS) for two-year-old pacing males highlighted the twilight card. In the first event, a non-wagering race, driver Heath Campbell sent Matucci out to the lead from post 3, and set a modest tempo of :30.2 and 1:01.4 to the opening half.
Down the backside Twice The Ice pulled first over to challenge for the lead, going into a 1:32.2 third panel. At the head of the stretch the challenger moved within a nose of the lead, but Mattucci would not relinquish and held on to win in 2:00.4, and was a maiden no more.
The two-year-old son of Western Maverick was bred by Valerie Grondin, who also co-owns with Gino Mattucci, whose name the colt shares, having been named after his father Gene Mattucci, a horseman from Brooklyn.
“I’m just happy for everyone involved with that stable,” co-owner Gino Mattucci stated. “They work so hard from start to finish.”
Twice The Ice finished second; So Rock N Roll was third.
Another Grondin pupil grabbed his share of the loot, as Two Towns Over cut the fractions and gave himself a faster record of 2:00 over the speedy Skowhegan oval.
Driven by Aaron Hall, the two-year-old son Deuce Seelser led every step of the way in the $18,184 MSBS pari-mutuel opener. Throwing in a :28.1 final quarter was enough to keep the current points-leader Luke McGook at bay to win by three-quarter lengths.
It was the second victory in as many weeks for Two Towns Over, who paid $5.60 to win. Also owned by Grondin, he was bred by Andrew Bustard. Two Points finished third.
The frosh fillies came out to play on Monday (Aug. 15), with Katelyns Angel and Pickmepickme winning both those $17,000-plus MSBS divisions. Both fillies are by Western Maverick. For the former, the 2:00.2 winning time was a new lifetime best and her second straight victory. For the latter, it was that filly’s third consecutive stakes victory, giving her a formidable lead in the point standings.
Sunday (Aug. 14) was Maine-sired trot day at Skowhegan, with four divisions going postward. Full results can be found on the USTA website.
The three-year-old pacers round the week of fair racing, with fillies going on Thursday (Aug. 18) and colts and geldings lining up on Saturday (Aug. 20).
The remaining MSBS fair schedule is as follows:
Windsor, Aug. 27 – Sept. 5
Farmington, Sept. 18 – 21
Cumberland, Sept. 28 – Oct. 1 (two-year-old finals)
Fryeburg, Oct 6 – 8
The Maine-sired sophomore finale returns to Bangor for all of the three-year-old MSBS divisional finals on Oct. 15. The two-year-old championships will be held two weeks earlier on Saturday (Oct. 1) at the Cumberland Fair.
(MSBS)