Ranaldi fastest in Cumberland co-feature

CUMBERLAND, ME – Fast-class speedster Ranaldi (Western Maverick) took home the fastest of the $8,000 harness racing co-features on Sunday (Dec. 15) at Cumberland Raceway, giving red-hot reinsman Drew Campbell a hat trick on the mid-day card.

Leaving from pylon position, horse and driver left nothing to chance as the pair remained on point for the entirety of the performance.  Posting fractions of :28.3, 58.2 and 1:27 to the three-quarters, it appeared that 1-9 favorite Ranaldi would have little pressure from the rest of the field.  But that all changed in deep stretch when pocket-sitting Drinka Beer (7-1, Andrew Harrington) took aim at the leader.

Under the shadow of the wire Drinka Beer was chugging away at the pacesetter’s advantage, but Ranaldi managed to prevail by a quarter of a length in 1:57.  Owned and trained by Dakota Niles, the 5-year-old was bred in Maine by Ron Cushing and paid $2.20 to win his second consecutive race and seventh of the year.

Denver Seelster (Dave Ingraham) finished third in the first $8,000 division of leg two of the NW $30,000 in 2024 pop-up pacing series.

RANALDI REPLAY

The second division was captured by Lexus Witha View A (Somebeachsomewhere) who sat a perfect two-hole trip to outstep Hoosier Shark (Walter Case Jr.) in deep stretch to win by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:58.1.  Driven by Nick Graffam for trainer Jamie Gerard, the 10-year-old son is also co-owned by Gerard with Strategic Racing Stable.  He paid $3.60 to win his second in a row, and fifth of the season.

Sarah’s Lilly (McGwire Sowers) was third.  The final of that series is slated for Saturday (Dec. 21) and carries a purse of $12,500.

LEXUS WITHA VIEW A REPLAY

Ryan Berry steered JK Lucky Charms (Sweet Lou) to a 7-1/4 length rout over his Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) comrades, winning the $4,000 event in 1:59.2.  Trained by Allison MacDonald for owner Amy Weeks, the 7-year-old grabbed his ninth seasonal victory, paying $12.60 to win.  Next week’s Maine Amateur final will boasts a purse of $8,000.  As always, the MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed Stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.

JK LUCKY CHARMS REPLAY

Drivers Nick Graffam and Aaron Hall both had a pair of winners on the program.  Drew Campbell led all drivers this weekend with 13 wins and now has a whopping 47 victories over the last 16 days of the winter meet.  Campbell now leads all Cumberland drivers for the year with 89 dash wins.  Kevin Switzer Jr. is second with 84, Walter Case Jr. is third with 59.

Racing resumes Friday (Dec. 20) for the final weekend of our 19-day Winter Festival, which concludes Dec. 22, 2024.  Post time for the 3-day weekend cards are always 10:55 am.  Our annual Au Revoir Retirement Ceremonies will take place on Saturday, Dec. 21, with a total of 12 entries to be paraded in front of their loyal Maine fan base, but those that are still racing will be eligible to participate in the $6,000 Auld Lang Syne 14-year-old pace.

For more information go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com, or find us on Facebook: @FirstTracksCumberland.

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

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland