Co-feature trots to Bruce Ranger

CUMBERLAND, ME – The battle for the First Tracks Cumberland harness racing driving championship just got a little closer as Bruce Ranger took today’s $5,000 feature, Open II-III Trot, with Broadway Giant on Tuesday (Nov. 30).

Ranger charged from behind the starting car from post five with favorite Broadway Giant, assumed command and maintained a comfortable tempo through all the remaining stanzas.  Despite continued pressure from L Dees Yoyo Ma, Ranger was able to secure a one and one-half length victory in 2:02.

Owned and trained by Ronald Patoine, the 7-year-old son of Broadway Hall picked up his third win of the season after a lengthy drought at Plainridge.  L Dees Yoyo Ma (3, Drew Campbell) finished second; Neverdie (1, Ron Cushing) was third.

Broadway Giant paid $3.20 to win.

BROADWAY GIANT REPLAY

Ranger wired the field once again in race six, a $4,000 Open IV Trot, which was captured by Major Matter in 2:03.3.  The favorite was able to avoid some traffic trouble after the start and roll on to the lead.

From there, Ranger cruised through easy fractions with Major Matter (post 4) and drew off down the stretch to score by four.  Mackworthy (2, Wally Watson) finished second; Call Me Hal (3, Nick Graffam) was third.

Major Matter paid $4.80 to win.

MAJOR MATTER REPLAY

The $4,000 ‘Grumpy Old Man Pace’ was captured by 13-year-old Personnel Space in 2:00.3.  Owned and trained by Michael Girouard, the son of I Am A Fool is a winner of 43 races lifetime.  Driven by Matt Athearn, Personnel Space paid $12.40 to win.  Spaghetti Eddie (2, Walter Case Jr.) finished second; Bettoriffic (2, Drew Campbell) was third.

Winning two out of the three trot races on the Tuesday card, Ranger has cut the seasonal leaderboard margin down to one, with Drew Campbell holding a narrow edge for first place in the driver standings 58-57.

Matt Athearn and Dan Deslandes also had driving doubles on the program.

Racing resumes on Wednesday (Dec. 1), with post time set for 11:00 a.m.

The Winter Festival extended pari-mutuel meeting continues with live harness racing several days each week through December 31, 2021.

Horsemen should note that several Late Closers for the Winter Festival, the Rick Cushing and the Fred Nichols series, will start shortly.  For more information go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com or check the USTA online entry condition sheets when applicable.

Follow us on Facebook at @FirstTracksCumberland.

For full race results, click here.

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland