Several of the six fillies in the $22,460 Maine Sire Stakes for two-year-old pacing fillies tried valiantly, but none could reel in wire-to-wire winner Chasing Dudes on Friday, Aug. 2 at Cumberland Raceway.
Scoring for the second straight week, the daughter of Dudes The Man never had an anxious moment as driver Nick Graffam set comfortable fractions of :30.1 and 1:02.4 in the opening half. 9-5 wagering favourite Glorilla (Ron Cushing) was the first to pull to the outside and challenge going past the stands to the five-eighths marker. Thinkin Bout Life (Walter Case Jr.) was also thinking about improving her position as she was second over.
By the swifter 1:33 third panel Glorilla was at the wheel of the pacesetting Chasing Dudes, with the field stacked up behind them heading into the final turn. Graffam let out a notch through the apex and got a little breathing room from the rest of the pack.
Down the stretch Glorilla took one more shot at the leader, but to no avail. Chasing Dudes tripped the timer in 2:03.3, winning by a measured length margin.
Trained and co-owned by Mike Graffam with breeder Bob Marston, Chasing Dudes picked up her second win in a row from just five lifetime starts. She paid $7.60 to win.
Glorilla finished second; Audry (Steve Wilson) was third.
Nick Graffam picked up another two wins on the program, and leading reinsman Kevin Switzer Jr. had a grand slam.
Saturday’s 14-race closing day card includes all of the track’s regular betting options, including 50-cent Pick-5 (races 3-7 & 9-13); 50-cent Pick-4 (races 11-14); 50-cent Pick 3 (races 12-14), all with a low 16-percent take out. The 14th race Pentafecta (High 5) has a $228.15 carryover. First post time is 3:25 p.m.
(First Tracks Cumberland)