June 14, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photos)
CUMBERLAND, ME – Walter Case Jr. scored a natural hat trick on Friday (June 13) at Cumberland Raceway, including a victory with Rose Run Xander in the $5,000 featured conditioned trot.
‘Casey’ wasted little time moving the rangy 6-year-old son of Triumphant Caviar to the lead, springing from post five and grabbing the point in a :29 opening panel. From that point the duo had things their own way, doubling their separation with the rest of the field at each and every stanza.
Following a :59.1 half while up by 2-1/2, Case and ‘Xander’ hit the third quarter in 1:28.1 and were now on top by four, and looking for more. By the head of the stretch charter Andrew Topham listed the pacesetter as leading the pack by six lengths, and by the time they hit the wire in 1:59.4, they were officially listed as 8-1/4 length victors.
Owned by Stan Whittemore and trained by Benson Merrill, the clocking was a seasonal best for Rose Run Xander who now has 14 lifetime victories and a career bankroll of $149,328. He paid $3.00 to win his second race of the year, and was the 1-2 heavy favorite.
Maplewood Slugger (John Nason) finished second; Dynamical Tad (Dave Ingraham) was third.
For Case, this was the middle score in his three-bagger on the afternoon. He had previously won with Big Plan Stan (1:57.3, $3.00) for trainer Kevin Switzer Sr., and followed up the feature romp with a win aboard Sunny’s Rebel (2:01.3, $3.20), which was another training win for Benson Merrill.
Todd Whitney took sole command of second place in the Maine Amateur Driving Club (MADC) series with his wire-to-wire steer of Rise N Grind in the $4,000 finale. Leaving from post five Whitney hit the top and never looked back, tripping the timer in 1:55.4, which was the fastest MADC event in recent memory.
A former national amateur driving champion, Whitney paid $4.00 with the 4-year-old son of Up The Credit, who is owned and trained by Dennis Whittemore.
Aitnobetter (Jonathan Bresnahan) finished second; Rockaholic (Derek Howes) was third. The MADC is sponsored by the Blue Seal Feed Stores of North Yarmouth and Windham, Maine.
Racing continues on Saturday (June 14) with 10 races, including a pair of $11,000-plus Maine Sire Stakes events for 3-year-old pacing fillies, as well as eight individual legs of our lucrative Late Closing series.
The action kicks off at 3:15 pm on both Friday and Saturday, with a Trifecta in all 10 races, and the program also features a plethora of exotic wagers. Cumberland’s Pick 5 begins with the third race, and 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.
Live video and replays can be found on our website: firsttrackscumberland.com
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.
