Switzer scores triple at Topsham Fair

Topsham, Maine …  Harness racing driver Kevin Switzer, Jr was keenly spectacular on Tuesday (August 6), scoring three wins on Topsham Fair’s nine-race program, while proving himself the master at controlling tempo while simultaneously stacking the competition, like living chess pieces, across the raceway.

Switzer’s sorties included a gate-to-wire gambit behind the Aaron Hall trained, Jax Spratt (Devious Man – 2:05-$9.60) who benefited from a classic, old-school, backed down mile that would have made even the legendary Harold Story smile.

Utilizing identical opening panels of :32.1, Switzer lulled the field to sleep as they tracked his trotter to the half in an unsuspected 1:04.2. With plenty left in reserve, Switzer then stepped on the gas while gliding home through a 1:00.3 back-half to secure the sixth win of the season for the four-year-old son of Devious Man.

The streaking Golden Tree (Western Ideal – 2:03.1-$2.40) also benefited from Switzer’s domineering downshifting. Leaving aggressively with the 1-5 favorite, Switzer put the challengers in line early while drilling a smart opening panel of 30.2 before throttling down the tempo to the half through a leisurely 1:02.3 clip. Scurrying home through an accelerated 1:00.3 back-half, Switzer left the discouraged competition solidly in his wake as he marched unchallenged to the wire.

The win was the third consecutive score for the 11-year-old son of Western Ideal who is trained by Neal Grass for owner Bernie Garrison.

Adept on the point, Switzer also proved capable of overcoming the tempo set by others as he engineered a stirring deep rally victory behind the classy Stormyweatherahead (Luckcamotion – 2:03.1-$5.60). Tracking the blazing early speed of The Spy (Walter Case, Jr) who sped to the half in a smart 1:00.2, Switzer tipped three-deep up the backstretch into a decelerating 1:02.4 back-half to wrest the lead off the final turn before jogging in hand to the wire.

Trained by Patricia Sumner for owners Leighton Property and Victoria Leighton, the win marked the 36th career victory for the Maine-bred.

In a classic case of sibling rivalry, another Sumner trainee also visited the winner’s circle later in the card as Stormyweatherahead’s half-brother, Stormin Maverick (2:02.3-$35.00), popped the pocket to earn a half a length victory for driver Andrew Harrington.

The win was the fourth career score for the Maine-bred son of Western Maverick-Wolf’s Creek Cupid who is owned by Anita Chapman.

In other Topsham news, driver Heath Campbell added two more wins on Tuesday to Monday’s triple while trainer Valerie Grondin sent two winners from her stable down Victory Lane.

All harness racing cards will be broadcast live on YouTube on the page YouTube.com/@mainefairharnessracing.com and online wagering opportunities will be available on the Hollywood Races platform at hollywoodraces.com.

Live harness racing resumes at the Topsham Fair on Tuesday (August 7) with post time slated for 1:00 p.m. (EDT).

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Mike Sweeney, for the Topsham Fair