Freshman pacers impress in Maine Sire Stakes

CUMBERLAND, ME – Maine-bred and sired 2-year-old pacers re-appeared at Cumberland on Sunday (Jul. 30), where the aptly named Oakleypopsthedeuce (Deuce Seelster) acted accordingly to capture the first harness racing win of his fledgling career.

Scoring from post two driver ‘double-digit’ Dave Ingraham maintained his position with Oakleypopsthedeuce (8-1) and settled in behind 2-5 favorite Hesjustadelight (Ron Cushing-Heidi Gibbs) to hit the opening panel in a moderate 29.4.

With no movement, and the field in perfect alignment the freshmen pacers hit the half in a relaxed 1:01.2 with Wes’s Challenge (Walter Case Jr.-Marc Tardif) sitting third.  Down the backstretch for the final time Thru The Fire (Andy Harrington-Tardif) moved swiftly passing horses first over and was alongside Oakleypopsthedeuce as the field reached the third stanza in 1:31.

Rolling through the turn in the heat of battle Thru The Fire lost some momentum which gave Oakleypopsthedeuce just enough wiggle room to pop out of the two-hole and challenge for the lead.  Down the stretch the pair matched strides valiantly, but it was Oakleypopsthedeuce that prevailed by a quarter length, getting up in the final steps to break his maiden in 2:01.4.

Trained by Kelly Case for owner Tammy Sowers, he was bred by Irwin Kaplan.  Living up to his Gabe Prewitt-given nickname, Dave Ingraham with Oakleypopsthedeuce paid $19.00 to win the $15,123 Maine Sire Stake for 2-year-old colt and gelding pacers.

Hesjustadelight finished second; Wes’s Challenge was third.

Two $14,000-plus divisions of Maine Sire Stakes for freshmen fillies were scheduled for Saturday (July 30), however, one raced and one was postponed until Sunday (July 31).

Ghost Of You (Deuce Seelster) took the rescheduled $14,663 event, which was contested before Sunday’s regular program, in a maiden-breaking 2:02.1. Driven by Kevin Switzer Jr. for trainer Marc Tardif and owner-breeder Leighton Property, she made every call a winning won, scoring wire-to-wire to grab the first victory in her 6-start career.

Zoes Precious RN (Mike Cushing-Sherry Cushing) finished second; My Sweet Revenge (Case Jr.-Tardif) was third.

A day earlier Mrs Foxy Roxy (Deuce Seelster) picked up her fourth career victory, scoring in 2:05.2 in the $14,486 Maine Sire Stakes for 2-year-old pacing fillies. The Mike Graffam-trained and Nick Graffam-driven distaff has assembled an impressive seasonal summary of four wins and a second in six starts.

This was Mrs Foxy Roxy’s third Maine Sire Stakes victory for owners Bill McElvain Jr., Diane Dunn and Brad Veilleux and breeders Gary and Kristina Hall.  She paid $4.00 to win.  Who’s Perfect (Heath Campbell-Valerie Grondin) finished second; Gowestyounggrace (Dave Ingraham-Fred Ward Jr.) was third.

The Maine Sire Stakes returns to Cumberland on Saturday (Aug. 5) with all divisions of the 2- and 3-year-old Pine Tree State-bred trotters going postward.  The following week the program transitions to the fair circuit with sire stakes racing at Topsham beginning August 7.  The third week in August brings the monsters of the midway up to Skowhegan for another full week of Maine harness racing.

For more information about the Maine Sire Stakes, follow their Facebook page @MaineBreedersAssociation, or go to their website.

by Chris Tully, for the Maine Sire Stakes