Lofthus wraps Cumberland Fair with another win

September 30, 2024, by Chris Tully for First Tracks Cumberland
(Stephanie Gray photos)

CUMBERLAND, ME – Leading part-time driver Hunter Lofthus grabbed another victory in the $4,700 Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) series at Cumberland Raceway on Sunday (Sept. 30), showing his fellow reinsmen that patience is a virtue.

Lofthus, who already had 10 wins in 34 starts and a 0.408 UDRS coming into the race, was sent off as the 1-2 favorite from post four with Jamie Gerard’s Polyester.

When the gate sprung it was Zampara and Benson Merrill that shot out for an early lead, with Todd Whitney driving Twin B Impressive trying to force his way into the two-hole.  With those to combatants duking it out through the stinging :27.2 opening panel and into the :57.1 half, the aggressive, front-running pair began to falter as the field headed to the 1:27.2 third stanza.

Meanwhile, at the back of the pack, Lofthus has sprung from the pylons heading to the half and had advanced to second position before the pacers reached the final turn.  From that point the 4-year-old daughter of Dude’s The Man was in full flight and charged down to the wire in 1:58, scoring by 1-1/4 lengths.

For driver Lofthus, it was his 11th win of the year, which coupled with his seven second-place finishes in 35 starts, gave the talented teamster a 0.425 UDRS.

Polyester is owned and trained by Jamie Gerard, giving the mare her seventh seasonal victory.  Gerard also had an additional three training wins on the program, including: Twin B High Tech (1:56.4, $5.00); Acefortyfour Cory (1:59.2, $5.20); Hunting Angels (1:58.3, $10.40).

Provisional driver Dalton Lee picked up his second win of the season, blowing up the tote board in the process.  Lee sent his own Eternal Ring on a wire-to-wire tour of the facility with 3-2 favorite American Fighter and Drew Campbell glued to his helmet.

The 11-year-old daughter of Artzina held on to win by three parts of a length in 2:01.3, paying $20.20 for the victory in the $5,000 Blueberry Pop-Up Consolation.

Driver Andy Harrington had three wins on the program, where Walter Case Jr., Aaron Hall and Kevin Switzer Jr. all enjoyed driving doubles on the final day of the ‘Fair’ meet.

Live harness racing resumes with the First Tracks Cumberland Winter Festival, which begins a 19-card stretch on November 2.  The action follows a 2-day Saturday-Sunday schedule throughout the month of November.  In December the track adds Fridays for 3-day weekends of racing through December 22.  Our popular Au Revoir Retirement Ceremonies are slated for Dec. 21.

For additional information, visit our website at firsttrackscumberland.com, or find us on social media at https://www.facebook.com/FirstTracksCumberland/