Walter Case Jr. wins six at Cumberland

CUMBERLAND, ME – Walter Case Jr., who ranks 9^th on the all-time dash wins list among active harness racing drivers, added six victories to his lifetime total of 11,395 on Friday (July 5) at Cumberland Raceway.

‘Casey’ started his six pack by taking both $15,986 divisions of the Maine Sire Stakes for 2-year-old pacing colts and geldings.

The first division he captured with Massive Speed (Dude’s The Man), using a two-hole trip to grab the lead in mid-stretch and get Massive Speed a new 2:01.4 race record.  Trained by Marc Tardif and owned by Leighton Property, he was bred by Laurie Harding and paid $2.40 to win.

Pacesetter Ridgecrest Dan (John Nason) finished second; Dude’s Wanted Man (Heath Campbell-Valerie Grondin) was third.

MASSIVE SPEED REPLAY

Case came right back in the second division to score with the Tardif-trained Jax Attack (Deuce Seelster) in 2:05.  Again utilizing a pocket trip to score with the heavy favorite, he paid $2.40 for owner Leighton Property.  He was bred by Gary and Kristina Hall.

Gracies Tough Guy (Dave Ingraham-Fred Ward Jr.) finished second; Ella V Dude (Kevin Switzer Jr.-Marc Tardif) was third.

JAX ATTACK REPLAY

Case won his third race of the afternoon with another Tardif-trained pupil Pickmepickme (Western Maverick) in 1:57, paying $3.00 to win.  Then he continued his reign of terror in race eight with Royalty Again (Royal Mattjesty, 1:58.1, $6.60); race 11 with To My Credit (Credit Winner, 1:59.4, $2.60); and race 12 with Virtual Success (Betterthancheddar, 1:58.1, $14.00).

Looking ahead to Saturday (July 6), Cumberland welcomes all the 2-year-old trotters for their first Maine Sires Stakes action, with two $15,000-plus divisions going postward as races one and three. The filly trotters are first up in race one, and are led by Pandemic Princess (8-5, Campbell-Grondin).

Race three gives five trotting colts and gelding their time in the spotlight.  Katahdin Victor (6-5, Wallace Watson-Lisa Watson) is the early favorite and has already shown some flashes of brilliance.

Also on Saturday’s 12-race program of full fields is a $5,000 division of the Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) goes as race four.  The MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed Stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.

The First Tracks Cumberland meet continues throughout the summer months with regular racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through August 3.

For additional information, visit our website at firsttrackscumberland.com, or find us on Facebook.

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

by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland