Two $14,000-plus divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for three-year-old male pacers closed out the harness racing meet at the Farmington Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 20, with a couple of the usual suspects finding the winner's circle once again.
In the first and fastest $14,692 split, Colt Bennett (pictured above) came from off the pace to win his fourth race of the year in 1:58.
When the wings folded, Mattucci (Heath Campbell) fought for command from pylon position and led the field into a :29.1 opening panel. As the field passed the stands for the first time going to the half, Mattucci was well in control of the tempo, having set a comfortable :59.1 second quarter.
Walter Case Jr. ranged So Rock N Roll up first-over and had collared the pacesetter by the third stanza in a snappy 1:28.4. The Marc Tardif-trained recent winner was on top at the head of the stretch, with a seemingly comfortable margin. However, ‘Double Digit’ Dave Ingraham had other ideas and unleashed a torrid burst of speed with Colt Bennett to chase down the leader and prevail by a quarter-length. Anithingforyoudear (Dan Deslandes) finished third.
It was the :28.4 final quarter that sealed the deal for the connections and gave the son of Rock N Roll World his fourth win of the season in 18 starts. Colt Bennett is trained by David Crochere for owner Nancy Lombardi. He was bred by Steve O’Toole.
Following a pair of recent second-place finishes that interrupted a seven-race win streak, Luke McGook was able to get back to winner's circle.
Driven by Kevin Switzer Jr. for trainer Marc Tardif, Luke McGook left little doubt about his intentions when the wings folded as he assumed his favourite position on the front end.
From that point, Swizter set moderate fractions of :30.1, 1:02.1 and 1:32.3 while Two Towns Over (Aaron Hall) maintained a tight pocket in anticipation of any diminishing pace. Rockaroundsam (Case Jr.) went first-over and got to within a half-length of the pacesetter at the third panel.
Nonetheless, Switzer found another gear with Luke McGook and the gelding responded with a :28.2 final quarter to prevail by half a length in 2:01. Town Towns Over finished second and Rockaroundsam was third.
Luke McGook is owned by Leighton Property and picked up his eighth seasonal victory in 10 starts. Bred in Maine by Erika Saucier, he is a son of Rock N Roll World and now has more than $208,000 in lifetime earnings.
The Maine-sired Standardbreds invade the Cumberland Fair with the trotters on Wednesday, Sept. 27, the sophomore pacers on Friday, Sept. 29 and the $240,000 (est.) freshman finals on Saturday, Sept. 30.
(With files from Maine Sire Stakes)