Maine’s two-year-old pacing colts and geldings made their second spin around the historic Windsor Fair oval on Labour Day Monday (Sept. 1) with the results exactly the same as the week before.
With the pair of divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for freshman male sidesteppers closing out the extended stretch of harness racing at Windsor, all eyes were upon the unbeaten phenom Real Horrorshow in the first non-wagering event. Vying for bragging rights and the lion's share of the $23,456 purse, six boys lined up behind the Wes Brown starting gate en route to another successful performance by the Kevin Switzer Jr.-driven and Kevin Switzer Sr.-trained son of Dudes The Man.
When the wings folded, Real Horrorshow sped out to the top from post five, just like he has done six times before, and reached the quarter in :29.3. Daytoremember (Heath Campbell) sat in a close pocket with Nuh Uh (Aaron Hall) tracking along in third as the field hit the half in 1:00.3.
As the pacesetter, who has never seen the back of a helmet, and his tracker put some separation on the rest of the field, Real Horrorshow had Daytoremember looking over his shoulder as they reached the third panel in 1:30.2. On the outside while rounding the turn, Campbell and his charge were as close to the undefeated Real Horrowshow as any other horse has ever been, chasing him to the wire in 1:58.4, but coming up a half-length short. Nuh Uh finished third, 5-3/4 lengths behind the winner.
Owned by KDK Standardbreds, Kathleen Mofield and Anthony Sivik Jr., Real Horrorshow took a new lifetime mark while increasing his bankroll to $67,180. The gelding out of the Yankee Cruiser mare Pretty Eyes was bred in Maine by Luke and Patricia Varnum.
In the second $23,458 division, Wowzah Clousah was sent to the top from his pylon-hugging starting position by regular driver Mike Cushing, spurning a potential overtake by the fast-leaving Dudes The Jet and Switzer Jr. Wowzah Clousah took the field past the opening panel in :29.2 with Ghost Of Winter (Andy Harrington) first-over and providing cover for Itsjustmoney (Aaron Hall) into a 1:00.4 midway point.
Down the backstretch the second time, Ghost Of Winter had reached the pacesetter’s throat latch and was applying significant pressure before going off stride and relinquishing any further advancement. Past the 1:30.1 third stanza and into the turn, with Itsjustmoney floating on the outside, Switzer Jr. pushed Dudes The Jet out through a negligible seam to daylight and rolled past Wowzah Clousah to capture the victory in 2:00.4 by three parts of a length. Deuces Red (Dave Ingraham) rallied to be third.
Trained by Marc Tardif for owners Leighton Property and Victoria Leighton, Dudes The Jet earned his second (consecutive) victory in seven career starts. The Dudes The Man-Maverick Fiber colt was bred in Maine by Fred Decker.
With the Maine Sire Stakes sweep part of a three-win day for Switzer Jr., the reinsman cemented his hold on the 2025 Windsor Fair driving championship. Switzer scored 25 top tallies over the course of the week-long meet, nearly twice as many as his nearest rival, Aaron Hall, who secured 13 driving wins at Windsor.
Switzer’s hat trick was punctuated by one of the most strategically perfect drives to be witnessed over the course of the meeting, as he guided the Michelle LeFebrve-trained pacer De Chirico to his fourth consecutive win.
Scoring from post six, Switzer steadied his charge along the outer rim as horses from the inside wing and second tier jockeyed for early position. Only after He Can Rock (Mike Stevenson) put the field in line after gaining the point, did Switzer unleash De Chirico’s lethal early brush. Rushing toward the top through a tepid opening panel of :29.2, De Chirico gained the lead just prior to entering the second turn.
Grinning with guile, Switzer then deadened an already pedestrian pace, gaining a breather to the half in :59.3, as the rest of the field began to realize their predicament. Recognizing the lack of pace, Aaron Hall pulled Illicit Affair into a first-over assault, eventually gaining De Chirico’s flank but advancing no further, as the field hit three-parts in 1:29.4.
In a move that would have made the legendary Harold Story proud, Switzer used Illicit Affair like a pawn on a chessboard, blocking the forward progress of the outer flow and keeping He Can Rock trapped in the pocket, as the field bunched together around the final turn.
With Illicit Affair stalled and He Can Rock trapped, Always A Mystery (Chris Nye) shot three-wide off the bend, but with Switzer masterfully commanding tempo while thwarting forward advancement, the deal was already sealed before Nye ever left the pylons. De Chirico, an eight-year-old son of So Surreal-Artcotic, paraded victorious for the 20th time in his career, after posting the half-length margin timed in a seasonal best 1:59. He Can Rock rode the pegs to the runner-up placing while Always A Mystery’s three-wide gambit netted him third.
Switzer has now won the driving championship at each of Maine’s first three fairground meetings, adding the Windsor crown to top honours previously gained at the Topsham and Skowhegan Fairs.
Maine’s harness racing circuit now transitions back to Bangor Raceway’s commercial meet, which will reopen on Wednesday, Sept. 3 for a four-day September fling. Post time for Wednesday’s card will be at 3 p.m. followed by 12:10 p.m. cards on Saturday and Sunday before ending with a 3 p.m. performance the following Wednesday.
(With files from Maine Sire Stakes & Windsor Fair; photo of Real Horrorshow winning on Sept. 1)