April 26, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photos)
CUMBERLAND, ME – Driver Drew Campbell needed no RSVP as he sent Dinner Party to a wire-to-wire romp in the featured $5,500 conditioned pace on Saturday (April 26) on a damp and foggy afternoon at Cumberland Raceway.
Leaving from pylon position, Campbell hustled the 6-year-old son of American Ideal right to the top where he immediately procured a 3-1/2 length lead into the :30.1 opening panel. Bare Bone (Walter Case Jr.) got away second with 3-5 favorite Heavensway A (Kevin Switzer Jr.) tracking along closely in third.
Dinner Party led the way into a 1:01 half with a rough gaited Bare Bone losing ground which allowed Heavensway A to assume the two-hole and initiate further movement in the outer flow.
With Bare Bone going off stride while approaching the 5/8’s pole, the trailing horses were scattered in the back of the pack. This allowed Dinner Party and Heavensway A to gain some separation from the rest of the field in a much swifter 1:28.3 third stanza, with the leader on top by 4-1/2 length margin.
By the head of the stretch it was all over but the clean up as Dinner Party enjoyed a plate smashing victory in 1:59, hitting the buffet line three lengths ahead of Heavensway A for a new seasonal mark.
Trained by Christopher DuBois for owner Mary Fernald, it was his second seasonal victory and 13th of his career. Dinner Party now has $64,509 in lifetime earnings and treated his backers to a handsome $10.00 gratuity.
Flow With Joe (Aaron Hall) finished third.
Aaron Hall picked up his second win in a row with the Andy Harrington trained Forrest Blu, who took his $5,000 conditioned pace in 2:00.1. Blasting three-wide down the backside, the 6-year-old son of Roll With Joe paid $6.40 to win for the second time in three seasonal starts.
Mike Stevenson found his way to the winners circle with Rest Assured from the outside post seven. Taking the $4,400 conditioned pace, Stevenson got up in the final strides with the 8-year-old son of Westwardho Hanover to score in 2:04.4. Also trained by Mike Stevenson for owner David Zuckerman, the duo paid $16.00.
Todd ‘Too Tough’ Whitney took the weekly $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club event with Michelle Lefebvre’s Nagle in 2:03, paying $4.40 to win. Smartys Filly (Jason Bertolini) finished second; Bush Man N (Hunter Lofthus) was third. The race is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed stores of North Falmouth and Windham, Maine.
Nick Graffam won three races on the program and Drew Campbell piloted a pair of winners.
After six programs during Cumberland’s Spring-Summer meet the leading driver is McGwire Sowers with 13 wins, Nick Graffam has 10 and Drew Campbell rounds out the top troika with nine victories. Autym Robinson is the leading conditioner with 12 wins, followed by Benson Merrill (6) and Mike Graffam and Andy Harrington with four apiece.
Replays are available on-line at our website: firsttrackscumberland.com
Racing resumes at Cumberland on Friday (May 2). Looking ahead to next Saturday (May 3), bettors and fans of Thoroughbred racing will be able to watch and wager on the entire Kentucky Derby card from Churchill Downs, right in the Cumberland Raceway grandstand.
First Track’s Cumberland Spring/Summer meet will continue throughout the Spring and early Summer months with regular racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend. First post is slated for 3:15 pm (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through August 2.
