Hight Invitational to Ever Hoping A

Skowhegan , Maine …. Hope springs eternal along the state-of-Maine harness racing circuit with most trainers and drivers hoping for an opportunity to win the marquee invitationals held at various racing venues around the state. When you stable horse like Ever Hoping A though, those hopes, more often than not, transform into reality.

Ron Cushing, who knows a thing or two about winning the big races in Maine, added another championship to his quiver on Say(August 17) when his exciting new addition, Ever Hoping A (Always B Miki-Better Believe It), roared around the historic racetrack at the Skowhegan State Fair to win the 2024 edition of the annual renewal of the $15,000 Walter H. Hight Memorial Invitational in 1:52.4.

The win was the second state-of-Maine score for the six-year-old, who just two starts prior had won the $25,000 Pine Tree Invitational at First Tracks Cumberland in a track record equaling clocking.

The Skowhegan effort, the fastest mile paced thus far this season in Maine, fell just 1/5th of a second off of Rodeo Du Ruisseau’s long-held divisional track record set in 2010 at the mid-Maine fairgrounds.

Ever Hoping A broke aggressively from the gate, quickly assuming command while forging swift fractions (:28.1,:56.3,1:25.1). Doing all the hard work himself in a daunting game of catch-me-if-you-can, he threw in a brilliant final quarter of :27.1 to cap off a wicked :56.1 back-half as he and Cushing charged triumphantly in front of the cheering throngs, extending out to a four-length margin at the wire

“He’s a good horse” Cushing remarked, “We acquired him in December and started racing him in February and like most of the Australian imports he started out slowly. He began to show some promise but then became pretty dull. He’s definitely acclimated himself though and he’s sharp right now. He’s really sharp. I hope we have a long career together.”

“We’ll point him toward the Windsor (Maine) Fair Invitational on Labor Day. We’ll be moving up there with our Maine Sire Stakes horses along with some horses that should fit well in the Open events. A week at Windsor is always an enjoyable time.”

Ever Hoping A is trained by Carlos Rodriguez for the ownership group of Ron Cushing, Stephen Downey, Ronald Stephen Ralph, and Romanelli Racing.

Windsor Fair opens its nine-day harness racing meet on Saturday (August 24) with a 1:00 post time. Racing will be featured daily (with the exception of Wednesday) through the traditional big 15-race program on Labor Day.

Before Windsor kicks off though, the state-of-Maine circuit revisits Bangor Raceway for two cards of harness racing on Wednesday and Friday (August 21 and 23) with post time slated for 6:00 p.m.

For complete information regarding lve racing, simulcast wagering, gaming, dining and hotel accommodations at Bangor’s Hollywood Casino and Raceway, please visit the website here.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting Results

by Mike Sweeney, for the Skowhegan State Fair