Pickmepickme is getting all the attention she desires as the two-year-old pacing filly picked up her fifth-consecutive Maine Breeders Stakes (MSBS) victory for owner-trainer-breeder Marc Tardif on Sunday (Sept. 4) at Windsor Fair.
Team Tardif sent three fillies into two $17,800-plus MSBS divisions for two-year-old pacing fillies, which was the second time in eight days that the division competed at Windsor Fair. All of the fillies got cheques, but Pickmepickme was a decisive winner in both visits.
In fact, the daughter of Western Maverick has just one blemish on her inaugural stakes season, finishing second at Cumberland on July 15. Otherwise, the sassy frosh filly has won every other MSBS event that she has been entered, for a total of six stakes wins in seven events.
Named after a youngster named Lauren who frequented the Tardif stable, at age five she always wanted to be picked up by Marc Tardif. As soon as she saw Tardif she would exclaim "pick me, pick me." Suffering from some serious medical issues, and somewhat smaller in size due to the condition, she loved to be picked up and carried around to visit with all the horses in the barn.
As she grew older, her summers were highlighted by visits to the Tardif stable, where she always had a pony, some rabbits and any other critters that she could fuss over. Over time, everyone around the close-knit Maine harness racing community would take turns looking after Lauren while the Tardif Taskforce was busy racing. She would visit the judge’s booth, the photo stand, hang out on the apron, anywhere that she could see the horses and be with horse people.
“She is the granddaughter of some of our close friends,” said Peggy and Marc Tardif. “All she ever wants is to be at the barn with the horses, so we always welcome her any chance we get.”
With her condition improved, the filly with the name that she created, Pickmepickme, gives Lauren another reason to smile.
Scoring from post four, driver Andy Harrington was content to let La Mambacita blast to the lead from post five and lead the pack through a snappy :28.2 opening quarter, followed by a more relaxed :58.3 half.
Heading into a 1:28.3 third panel, Harrington moved Pickmepickme to the outer flow and got to within three-quarter lengths of the leader. From there, it was all over, but the shouting as the heavy wagering favourite had taken the lead and added seven lengths on the field by the time the group hit the head of the stretch. The homebred filly won by a total of 9-1/4 lengths in 1:57.4, which was a lifetime best.
Pickmepickme is owned, trained, and was named and bred in Maine by Marc Tardif. She paid $2.80 to win. La Mambacita finished second and Katelyns Angel was third.
The early non-wagering $17,814 MSBS race was captured by South St Dottie in a wire-to-wire effort in 2:03.2. Driven by Nick Graffam for trainer Mike Graffam, despite the pedestrian final time, it was a maiden-breaking effort for the daughter of Western Maverick. Breeder Jan Donaway owns the winner. Ally Mac finished second and Alittlemorebliss was third.
Windsor Fair hosted all the Maine-sired trotters on Saturday (Sept. 3), with some of the usual suspects adding to their credentials and a few upsets to keep the bettors on their toes.
On the Saturday card, the $18,489 MSBS three-year-old male trot was captured by Warriorofthevalley in 2:04.1, who held off the late charge of point leader and wagering favorite Katahdin Mark to win by half a length.
Warriorofthevalley, a three-year-old son of Pembroke Slugger, paid $8.80 to win for owner-breeder Leighton Property. Andy Harrington drove the winner for trainer Marc Tardif. Chamorro finished third.
The Gordon Corey-trained Eustis picked up the first win of his career, winning for driver Mike Stevenson in 2:05. The two-year-old son of Boy Band bested wagering favourite Outlawofthevalley to win the $18,214 MSBS for freshmen trotting colts and geldings.
Owned and bred by Mike Andrew (also the co-breeder of top trotting colt Rebuff), Eustis paid $5.60 to win. Wabanaki finished third.
Shesalilbitmouthy won the early non-wagering $17,884 MSBS for two-year-old trotting fillies in 2:08.4. Scoring easily by 4-1/4 lengths, the daughter of Victor Blue Chip was driven by Mark Athearn for trainer Grethchen Athearn and owner Bill Phipps. She was bred by Stephen Hall.
Another Adventure finished second and Wild Ending was third.
A full field of seven completed the $18,961 MSBS trotting bonanza at Windsor, with Maplewood Slugger coming out on top of the diagonally gaited three-year-old filly set.
Driven to a 2:01.4 score by Andy Harrington for trainer John Nason, the daughter of Pembroke Slugger grabbed her sixth seasonal victory for owner/breeder Maxine Hadlock. Stablemate Show No Tears finished second and Pembroke Booboo was third.
Following the Windsor Fair, the Maine Breeders Stakes makes two stops at Bangor on Sept. 11 & 17, and then returns to the following fairs: Farmington, Sept. 18-21; Cumberland, Sept. 28-Oct. 1 (two-year-old finals); and historic 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.
(MSBS)