Track record rewritten again

CUMBERLAND, ME – Harness racing driver Drew Campbell guided Lindas In Heaven to another track record performance Saturday at Cumberland.  Re-writing history for the second time in as many weeks and dropping a full two seconds off the mark from the previous outing, Lindas In Heaven scored in 1:55.3 to capture the $5,500 Open II.

Campbell, the meet’s current leading driver, took the favorite off the gate in the opener from post four, with no initial intentions of wrestling the lead from Bruce Ranger and pylon position-starting Twin B Jays.

Sitting second through relatively comfortable fractions of 27.3, 58, Campbell rolled with the 4-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven to the top past the half, extended his lead through a 1:26.2 third quarter, and cruised home untouched by four and a half lengths.

Trained by Chris Lefebvre and owned by Michelle Lebebvre, it was the horse’s 13^th lifetime victory and third in a row.  Lindas In Heaven paid $2.80 to win.  Plus One (Kevin Switzer Jr.) finished second, Twin B Jays was third.

LINDAS IN HEAVEN REPLAY

The $6,000 ‘Open I’ division was scratched down to a four-horse field, with Airspinder (Wally Watson) crossing the wire first but was ultimately placed second for interference against Beach Watch (Aaron Hall) in the final turn.  Captain Nash (Drew Campbell) avoided the fracas and finished third.  Beach Watch paid $12.20 to win.

The “Greatest Side Show in Maine Harness Racing” began with the fifth race and was the first of three divisions of the Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC).  The $4,000 ‘Group B’ was captured by Rose Run Slider (Alex Richardson) who got up in the final strides to best Winning Chip (Zachary Gray) by a neck in 2:04.1.  Rose Run Slider paid $7.60 to win and was trained by Mark Harris for owner Gayle Harris.

The following two MADC events were both won by current point leader Benson Merrill, who had just returned from a Friday (Dec.3) night GSY series victory at the Meadowlands.  Merrill scored in the eighth race, a $4,500 MADC ‘Group A,’ with his own trainee Velocity Sub Z, and is the meet’s leading dash winning conditioner.  See You Friday (Zachary Gray) finished second, Led Schneppelin (Jason Bertolini) was third.  Velocity Sub Z paid $8.40 to win in the 2:02.2 mile.

The tenth race $3,500 MADC ‘Group C’ saw the Dalton Lee-trained Supreme Mach N give Merrill another trip to the Blue Seal Feeds Winners Circle, after winning by 9 ¾ lengths in 2:02.  Confusion and contact in the first turn resulted in a host of judge’s placings in the order of finish.

As always, the Maine Amateur Driving Club is sponsored by the generous folks at the North Yarmouth Blue Seal Feed Store and the Windham Blue Seal Feed Store, with leadership and support from Aimee Nichols, their gregarious territory sales manager.

Dan Deslandes also enjoyed a driving double on the program.  Matty “Ice” Athearn scored with a 48-1 longshot in race seven, which resulted in a $179.80 exacta and $1,181.10 trifecta payout.  All source pari-mutuel wagering totaled $104,941 on the day’s program.

Racing resumes Sunday (Dec. 5), with a full program which begins at 11:00 a.m.  The card features three separate classes for open trotters and host of other overnight races and plenty of pari-mutuel activity.

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

For more information, go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com.

For full race results, click here.

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland