A couple divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for two-year old pacing fillies were part of the Windsor Fair festivities on Saturday, Aug. 30, with the unbeaten lass Snowonthepines retaining her unblemished record.
In the first $23,456 division, driver Kevin Switzer Jr. sent the daughter of Dudes The Man-Snow Cone A right out to the front and never looked back. Scoring from post four, the top divisional star got every Mike Sweeney call as she breezed through early fractions of :29.3 and 1:01.1 with no pressure from the other participants.
Ekorus (Nick Graffam) sat tight on the pacesetter’s helmet through the first half, but failed to retain his position which forced Perfectly Lovely (Aaron Hall) to move first-over into a 1:32.1 third panel. Turning for home, Snowonthepines had a comfortable three-length lead over the rest of the field, who were all trying to play catch up.
While Ekorus and Perfectly Lovely battled valiantly behind her, Snowonthepines paced effortlessly across the wire in 2:02.1, still on top by a confident 2-1/4 lengths, to take her sixth straight victory. Ekorus finished second and Perfectly Lovely was third.
Trained by Marc Tardif for owner/breeder Leighton Property of Waterboro, Maine, Snowonthepines has now earned $55,232.
The odds-on favourite in the race, she paid $3.40 to win.
In the second $23,697 division, Tardif and Switzer Jr. attempted a sweep of series by sending Dudelookslikeafily out to an early lead and took the field through the first split in :30.2. McKenna Jeanne (Heath Campbell) was tracking along nicely in second with Just Delightful sitting third for Ron Cushing. As the field passed the half in 1:01.3, McKenna Jeanne got a little headstrong and jumped off stride allowing first-time starter Just Delightful to inherit the pocket.
Heading into the 1:32 third panel, Dudelookslikeafily had her lead evaporate as Just Delightful challenged on the outside and ultimately overtook the pacesetter. Blasting home, the daughter of Western Maverick-Shesjustadelight N won her first lifetime start in 2:03.1 by three lengths. Dudelookslikeafily hung on for second while Artistic Girl (Andy Harrington) was third.
Just Delightful is trained by Heidi Cushing and owned by her driver along with Stephen Downey of Quispamsis, N.B., and Anthony & Joseph Romanelli of Flushing, New York. She was bred in Maine by Lynne-Marie Plouffe.
Sent postward as the bettors' choice, Just Delightful paid $5.40 to win.
The big horses came to the Windsor Fair on Saturday, assembled at the bustling mid-Maine oval and intent on capturing fame and glory in one of Maine’s marquee harness racing events, the $20,548 Windsor Fair Invitational Pace.
The crowd, buzzing with excitement, made Two Fold Cold (David Ingraham) the post time favourite as the tandem sought to add the Windsor Fair Invitational title to the top honours already secured in the Pine Tree Invitational at First Tracks Cumberland and the Hight Invitational at Skowhegan, but it was Tenzing Bromac N and driver Ron Cushing who got the first call of starter Wes Brown’s mobile gate as he blasted into the first turn as the 3-1 second choice.
Scorching off the car, Cushing hustled his recent New Zealand acquisition to a convincing early lead, hitting the quarter in a breezy :27.2 before forging to the half in a dazzling :55.2.
Ingraham tipped Two Fold Cold to the outside as the field approached the half, intent on tracking Tenzing Bromac N down but was never able to get to within three lengths of the pacesetter as Cushing kept the peddle to the metal, marching to the three-quarter pole in a dazzling and dissuading 1:23.3.
Rounding the final bend, Tenzing Bromac N appeared in a race only against time when Alex Having Fun (Drew Campbell) swung off the pegs. Inching closer to the front-stepper with each and every stride, Campbell ran out of territory despite the impressive spurt of speed from Alex Hanving Fun, with Tenzing Bromac N maintaining a three-quarter-length margin over his closest pursuer as the tele-timer proclaimed the mile in an eye-popping 1:52.2. Alex Having Fun finished second while Starship (Aaron Hall) claimed third-place honours.
The win marked the fastest mile of the year paced thus far in the state of Maine and equalled the third fastest mile ever recorded at the Windsor Fair.
“The race went just the way I wanted it to,” remarked Ron Cushing, who co-owns the winner with Michigan's Kevin Sywyk. “I know David [Nelson, Windsor’s Director of Racing] and he’s worked hard on the track. Windsor has done a great job bringing it back to life. He wanted a good mile and so did I and I just thought that was the way to do it for that.
“He’s been off a few weeks," Cushing said of Tenzing Bromac N, who last raced on Aug. 11 at Plainridge Park. "He’s a really nice horse, I like him a lot. He’s probably not at his best yet. He’ll get better - I hope he gets better -- but I was very proud of him today. I like him a lot.
“He had to do all the work today. It’s kind of hard when you’re going like that for the guys to get up to kind of give you competition but I was happy with him."
Tenzing Bromac N, an eight-year-old gelded son of Bettors Delight-Tallulah Bromac, is trained by Heidi Cushing. The pacer established a brand new lifetime mark with the 1:52.2 epic while elevating his career bankroll over the $300,000 mark.
(With files from Maine Sire Stakes & Windsor Fair)