Quick Fun N makes quick work at Cumberland

CUMBERLAND, ME – Quick Fun N made quick work of the featured harness racing pace at First Tracks Cumberland on Saturday (May 14), wiring the field to score in 1:56.

Picking up his third victory in as many starts and lowering his seasonal mark by a few ticks in the process, veteran reinsman Ron Cushing wasted no time getting Quick Fun N to the party.

Scoring from post five, Cushing put the 10-year-old son of Real Desire right on the front of the conga line and never relinquished the lead.  Posting well-rated fractions of 29, 59.1, 1:27.2 with a final quarter of 28.3, the Joey Mosher-trained New Zealand bred was well within himself in ‘out-dancing’ the field by five lengths.

Owned by Lillian Bellmore, Quick Fun N paid $12.60 while winning for the 24^th time in his career.  Wagering favorite Airspinder finished second, Obscene Blue Chip was third.

QUICK FUN N REPLAY

Matt Athearn provided Ry’s Red Rocket with a perfect trip to score in 1:56.1 in the fourth race co-feature.  Leaving from pylon position, and content to let Some Gold (Dan Deslandes) grab the lead, Athearn waited until the three-quarter pole to tip the 5-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach.

During the stretch drive Some Gold faded to third, while favorite Readyfortheladys (Aaron Hall) found another gear and fought hard to be second.

Ry’s Red Rocket paid $7.20 to win for owner/trainer Don Richards.

RY’S RED ROCKET REPLAY

Ron Cushing, Matt Athearn and Bruce Ranger all enjoyed driving doubles on the Saturday program.  Dan Deslandes and Kevin Switzer Jr. remain tied for first place in the drivers’ standings with 15 wins apiece.  Matt Athearn is in third place with 14 victories.  The leading conditioner is Benson Merrill with 9 wins, followed by trainers Chris Lefebvre with 8 and Lisa Watson with 7.

Racing resumes on Friday (May 20) at First Tracks Cumberland.  Post time for the live Spring/Summer meet is now 4 p.m. on both Fridays and Saturdays, with the extended pari-mutuel meeting racing each weekend through July 23.

Fans and bettors can watch and wager on the 147^th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday (May 21) from the grandstand at Cumberland.

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

For complete race results, click here.

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland