A quartet of $25,000-plus divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for two- and three-year-old trotters invaded Bangor Raceway at Historic Bass Park on Saturday, Sept. 7 where streaking freshman high-stepper Whatawonder took his eighth consecutive victory.
While his opponents are getting closer and closer to the talented son of Whataworkout, the added competition didn’t stop the Lisa Watson-trained gelding from copping another wire-to-wire score in his $26,389 two-year-old male trot.
Leaving from pylon position, regular pilot Ken Watson sent Whatawonder right to the top where he raced through unhurried fractions of :32.2 and 1:04.3 through the opening half. Stepping on the accelerator into a 1:34.2 (:29.4) third panel, the pacesetter had Libertys Wildcard (Kevin Switzer Jr.) right on his helmet and stablemate Katahdin Victor (Wally Watson) first-over and challenging for the lead.
At the head of the stretch, the trotting wonder kicked into high gear and hurried home in :29.1 while matching strides with Libertys Wildcard to prevail by a scant three parts of a length. Tripping the timer in 2:03.3, it was a new lifetime mark for the Barbara Lawson-owned and bred Whatawonder.
Stablemate Katahdin Victor finished third in the non-wagering event.
In the $26,409 early three-year-old filly trot My Saving Grace nabbed her third win in a row, cruising home by nine lengths in 2:04.2, a new lifetime mark. Driven by Mark Athearn for trainer Gretchen Athearn, the daughter of Shake It Off Lindy is owned by Margaret Thyng. She was bred in Maine by Leighton Property. Twisted Venture (Mike Cushing) finished second and Bernies Legacy (Dave Ingraham) was third.
Sophomore trotting gelding Chipper Dale returned to his winning ways as he grabbed his $25,908 division, dropping a full two seconds off of his time badge in the process. Driven by Drew Campbell for trainer Valerie Grondin, the son of Shake It Off Lindy smoked the field past the half and rolled down to the wire in 2:00.1 in front by 9-1/2 lengths. Chipper Dale is owned and was bred by Lynn-Marie Plouffe, and picked up his sixth seasonal victory and a new lifetime mark. Stablemate Pembroke Will (Heath Campbell) finished second and Carrabassett (Mark Athearn) was third.
In the only event on the pari-mutuel card, eight two-year-old trotting fillies vied for $27,049 in purse money. Third choice Barbella (Bruce Ranger) was sent out for the early lead into a snappy :30.1 opening panel, with 6-1 longshot Little Shot (Ivan Davies) protecting his two-hole position into the first turn. With the rest of the field scattered by breakers those two continued on past a swift 1:00.2 half and a 1:31.1 third panel. With Barbella doing all of the heavy lifting, Little Shot pushed past the pacesetter in the homestretch to prevail by a length in 2:03.
A maiden no more, Little Shot is co-owned (with Shirley Hutchins), trained and was driven by Ivan Davies. Bred by Dr. Douglass Hutchins and Paul Kinnear, the daughter of Noble Venture made her seventh career start a memorable one, paying $15.40 to win.
Favourite Blizzards Fury (Switzer) finished third.
The Maine Sire Stakes continues on Sunday, Sept. 8 with two-year-old filly pacers and then returns to Bangor on Wednesday for the two-year-old male pacers. The following week the series transitions over to the Farmington Fair for harness racing Monday through Friday with all of the remaining divisions of two- and three-year-old Maine-bred events.
Four divisions of the $240,000-plus USD freshman finals will be held at Cumberland on Saturday, Sept. 28.
(Maine Sire Stakes)