Cumberland Fair opens with “Monstrous” roar

CUMBERLAND, ME – A large crowd and clear skies greeted the opening of the 150^th annual Cumberland Fair on Sunday (Sept. 25) with ten exciting harness racing contests marking the first of eight days of action.

The featured events for the opening day card were the first legs of two individual Monsters of the Midway series.

84-year-old Bob Nadeau guided his trusty gray steed Putnams Storm (Force Of Life) to a wire-to-wire victory in the first of two six-horse legs of the $6,000 Monsters of the Midway series # 2 eliminations.

Scoring from pylon position, the octogenarian never looked back as his 13-year-old ashen gelding rolled through opening fractions of 28.4 and 1:00 while the rest of the field battled for third place as Winter Asher-Stalbaum had Smart Move tucked in right behind Nadeau’s helmet.

At the half, Aaron Hall was first over with wagering favorite Ima Tragedy N, followed by Age Is A Number (Walter Case Jr.).  Not much changed into a 1:28.3 third panel, however, those two rivals traded positions in the stretch while watching Nadeau score handily in 2:00.1.

Putnam’s Storm is owned, trained and was driven by Bob Nadeau, a Maine-based prefab concrete salesman.  He paid $12.60 to win the 37^th race of his career.

Smart Move (fin. 2^nd), Age Is A Number (3^rd) and Ima Tragedy N (4^th) advance to the $12,000 final on Saturday (Oct. 1).

PUTNAM’S STORM REPLAY

The second $6,000 elimination of the Monsters of the Midway series # 2 went to public choice Cash Crazy Express (Art Major) and driver Aaron Hall.

Leaving from post six, those two blasted out to the lead, set the tempo, and withstood mild pressure from a first-over Halliwell Hanover (John Nason) to trip the final timer in 2:01.1.

Trained by Mark Harris and owned by Gayle Harris, the 6-year-old mare paid $4.80 to pick up her thirteenth lifetime victory.

Halliwell Hanover (fin. 2^nd), Dancin Hill (3^rd) and Led Schneppelin (4^th) also advance to the $12,000 final.

CASH CRAZY EXPRESS REPLAY

The $5,000 Monsters of the Midway series # 1 saw eight combatants test their mettle, with all finishers that enter advancing to the $10,000 final on Oct. 1.

As foreshadowed, that group was led, and ultimately defeated by, Grace Of Art (Art Major).  Driven to victory by Walter Case Jr., the 4-year-old mare overcame some traffic trouble at the half to score from off the pace in 1:59.

Owned and trained by Judson Merrill, she paid $3.00 to grab her eighth lifetime win.

Golden Tree (Andy Harrington) finished second; Belly Dancer (John Nason) was third.

GRACE OF ART REPLAY

Racing resumes Monday (Sept. 26).  Post time is 1 pm for the remainder of the Fair meet, which runs through Sunday (Oct. 2).

Looking ahead, the Maine Breeders Stakes (MSBS) returns with the 3-year-old pacers on Wednesday (Sept. 28), and 3-year-old trotters the following day (Sept. 29), with four $60,000-plus divisional MSBS 2-year-old finals on Saturday (Oct. 1).

First Tracks Cumberland’s winter festival reconvenes on Sunday, November 6, following a Friday, Saturday, Sunday racing schedule through Christmas Eve (Dec. 24).  Winter post times will be 11 a.m.

More information can be found on our website and on our Facebook page: First Tracks Cumberland.

For complete race results, click here.

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland