June 21, 2025, by Chris Tully, for First Tracks Cumberland
(Joe Shaw photos)
CUMBERLAND, ME – ‘Double Digit’ Dave Ingraham lived up to his moniker at Cumberland Raceway on Friday afternoon (June 20) by steering Dynamical Tad to a textbook ‘Go to Whoa’ upset in the $5,000 featured trot.
Scoring from pylon position Ingraham sent the 18-1 longshot out to the front, playing hardball against fellow leavers Rose Run Xander (3/5, Benson Merrill) and Maplewood Slugger (7-2, John Nason) which resulted in a frantic :27.3 opening panel, leaving the rest of the trotters in their wake.
Around the three-eighths marker McGwire Sowers shifted High Gear No Fear (8-1) into gear first over to get around a gapping Maplewood Slugger. Once comfortably in command, Ingraham was able to ease the tempo down to a more manageable :57.3 half, with second choice Empereurthebest FR (3-1, Walter Case Jr.) picking up the live cover second over.
With Rose Run Xander tight to his helmet, the pacesetter and his tracker had the rest of the field gaining ground as they approached the 1:28 third stanza. High Gear No Fear maintained his high side momentum and put a head in front of the favorite as they rounded the final turn.
Down the stretch it was clearly Dynamical Tad’s resilience that secured the victory as they crossed the wire in 2:00.1 in front by 3-1/4 lengths. Trained and co-owned by Luke Varnum with Patricia Varnum, the 5-year-old son of Tad The Stud picked up his second win of the season and a new lifetime mark in the process. He paid a whopping $38.60 to win.
High Gear No Fear finished second; Maplewood Slugger was third. The $1 Exacta paid $121.20 and the $1 Trifecta came back $284.70.
Driver Aaron Hall and trainer Jamie Gerard teamed up to take the early double ($7.90) with Quan Blue Chip (1:58.4, $7.60) and Twin B High Tech (1:59.2, $5.20). McGwire Sowers and his wife Autym also had a pair of winners: Sarah’s Lilly (1:57.3, $2.40) and Shes a Sassy Beach (1:58.3, $4.20). They may have had a hat trick on the program, however, their star pacing mare Vel Miss Taylor was scratched from race two.
Todd Whitney cruised to another easy victory with Rise N Grind (1:56, $2.20) in the Maine Amateur Driving Club event, with the horse being claimed by trainer Ryan Berry for the $5,000 tag.
Racing continues on Saturday (June 21) with 10 races, including a total of $66,000 in purses spread out among various legs of late closing series events.
The winner of the $12,500 Rockland series final, Dinner Party (2-1, Drew Campbell) will look to celebrate once again in his $7,500 leg of the Portland Pacing Series. The 6-year-old son of American Ideal boasts five wins and $23,665 in earnings this year.
Heavensway A (5-2, Kevin Switzer Jr.) leads the pack in the other $7,500 division of the Portland. Fresh off of two wins, the 8-year-old son of Rock N Roll Heaven has to contend with post eight.
The action kicks off at 3:15 pm on 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 brings a $498.78 carryover. The special wagers continue with our Pick 4 and Pick 3 toward the tail end of the program, and conclude with a High-Five Pentafecta in the final race—all with low 16% takeouts.
Live video and replays can be found on the track’s website: firsttrackscumberland.com
Racing at First Tracks Cumberland continues throughout the early Summer months with regular racing on Friday and Saturday each weekend. First post is always 3:15 pm (EDT) during the extended pari-mutuel meeting, which runs through August 2.
