Aaron Hall wins three at Bangor Raceway

Bangor, Maine – Harness racing driver Aaron Hall was quick to recognize a developing Bangor Raceway track bias which was heavily favoring front-end speed on Sunday (October 29) and promptly joined the pike-route craze to deliver three winners down the storied stretch at the Queen City’s historic Bass Park oval.

Hall’s winners included Golden Tree (1:59.2-$6.40), who won for fun by a 5-1/4 length margin while claiming the 38th win of his career for trainer Neal Grass; Hunting Angels (1:59.1-$6.40), who persevered by a scant head while battling back after having been nearly collared in mid-stretch by Mattucci (Heath Campbell); and Jax Spratt (2:01.2-$2.20), who paid dimes to dollars while dropping in class as the prohibitive 1-9 post time favorite.

HUNTING ANGELS REPLAY

Hall’s three wins on Sunday helped solidify his fifth-place position on the Bangor Raceway leaders board where the 29-year-old teamster remains sandwiched in between harness racing royalty in the standings. Hall currently sits four wins away from catching Bruce Ranger for fourth place while maintaining a five-win advantage over Walter Case, Jr.

In other Bangor news, driver Andy Harrington held the other hot hand on the chilly afternoon as temperatures plummeted at Bangor, teaming two well-conditioned steeds down Victory Lane. Both of his winners, Shou-Lao (2:00-$5.80) and PBR Street Gang (1:57.1-$8.20), were sent to post by his wife, Sara Harrington, who currently resides in fifth place in the Bangor Raceway trainers standings – a mere two wins removed from forming a three-way tie for third place with the Neal Grass and Kimberly Vafiades rosters.

Mr Bo Diddley (1:59.3-$3.00), a 12-year-old Maine-bred son of Ashlee’s Big Guy, shook off the cobwebs on Sunday while winning his first race in over four years. Dan Deslandes drove the Wayne Smith trainee to a robust 10-1/4 length victory to nail down the veteran pacer’s 12th career score.

Owned by Aldaberto Silva and Courtney Pitts, the win was the pacer’s first from his last 62 attempts, a streak dating back to his last taste of success in the pre-pandemic days of 2019 when he won two-in-a-row at Scarborough Downs and then the Farmington Fair.

Finally, Real Sancho (Real Desire, 1:58.1-$2.60), kept his win streak alive on Sunday, laughing at the competition through an overland grind, before extending to a 2-1/4 length margin to claim his sixth consecutive score. Trained by Kimberly Vafiades for owner/driver Joey Mosher, the eight-year-old remains undefeated and has now earned $17,050 since joining his new connections in September.

REAL SANCHO REPLAY

Live harness racing will be featured through the November 8th closing day at Bangor Raceway on Wednesdays at 3:00 p.m. (EDT) and Saturday with the brand-new early post time slated for 11:15 a.m.

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

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

by Mike Sweeney, for Bangor Raceway