December 15, 2024 – by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photo)
CUMBERLAND, ME – Drew Campbell left nothing but scorched earth in his wake as the sizzling hot reinsman won six of ten races on Saturday (Dec. 14) at Cumberland Raceway. In fact, the Nova Scotia-native has won 10 of the last 19 races held over the last two days of the penultimate weekend of Winter Festival harness racing at the iconic southern Maine oval.
Campbell wasted little time getting into the Blue Seal Feeds Winner Circle, as he took the $5,200 conditioned trot opener with Chad and Maryann Tompkins’ Valyrian Steel. Leaving from post seven, the pair ducked into the three-hole and sat patiently until the head of the stretch where the 5-year-old son of Chapter Seven dug in to the stone dust and emerged a winner in a tight, three-way finish. Tripping the timer in 2:00.1, Valyrian Steel paid $7.80 for the score, his second in a row and seventh of the season.
Driver Drew Campbell finished second in the next two out of three events, but then found pay dirt again in the fifth race with Benny Is A Jet. Sitting a perfect garden seat trip, the pair sprinted home by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:59.1 to pay $3.40. Trained by Chris DuBois for owner Robert Kluchevitz, the 7-year-old son of American Ideal also got his second consecutive victory.
Power Master got the signature ‘send ‘em’ trip from Mr. Campbell in the sixth race, leading from pillar to post in 1:58.3. Also trained by Chris DuBois for owner Robert Kluchevitz, the 3-year-old son of Shadow Play paid $3.20 as the 3-5 favorite.
The meet’s leading pilot took the seventh race off, but came right back with another wire-to-wire performance with George Fenno’s Instant Replay in the $5,500 eighth race conditioned pace. Blasting from the car from post six, the 4-year-old son of Lazarus N set blistering fractions of :27.1, :58.1, 1:26.2 and then closed out the mile by an impressive 7-3/4 lengths in 1:55.4. Trained by Steve Vafiades, it was the swiftest race of the day, and he paid $3.80 for his efforts.
Sixfingerfreddie, who gave Campbell his 6,000th career victory last week, gobbled up more race track for a repeat performance in winning the $6,000 Winners Over Pace. Leading every step of the way, the pair tripped the timer in 1:56.4 while prevailing by 2-1/4 lengths. They paid $6.00 to win for co-owner and trainer Randy Bickmore with partner Theresa Coulston.
In the $4,600 conditioned trot finale, Love Kitten gave Campbell another opportunity to blaze a fiery trail as the duo ran off and hid from the rest of the pack, conquering in 1:59.4 by eight lengths. Trained by Steven Vafiades for owner Jason Vafiades, it was the second straight score for the 5-year-old daughter of Jailhouse Jesse. She paid $2.20 as the heavy 1-9 favorite and was claimed following the event, but not before Drew Campbell had racked up six wins on the program.
Steve Wilson took the featured $6,500 Winners Over Trot with Inquiring Mind in 2:00.2. Trained and owned by Robert Cushing, the 6-year-old son of Chapter Seven paid a whopping $30.80 to win by a scant half-length. Little Macabee (Drew Campbell) finished second; Foxy Trottin Stick (Nick Graffam) was third.
Sunday’s (Dec. 8) card boasts nine divisions of the numerous pop-up series, with purses ranging from $6,000 to $8,000, along with the weekly $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club race.
On each of the three racing days the Pick 5 starts with the third race, continues with our Pick 4 and Pick 3 toward the tail end of the program, and concludes with our High-Five Pentafecta in the final race—all with low 16% takeouts.
The 19-day meet continues through Dec. 22, 2024, and post time is 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 Downeast fan base.
For more information go to our website: firsttrackscumberland.com, or find us on Facebook: @FirstTracksCumberland
