Graffam flushed the 1/5 favorite from the car from post two and took the point with minimal pressure. The 4 year old son of Artistic guy hit the opening panel in a modest: 29 seconds with Press Time (10-1, Aaron Hall) in the pocket.
The field stretched for a gentle 59.1 half-mile mark, with little action taking place on the outside. The first challenge came in the form of Grand Gallop Semalu (8-1, Andy Harrington), who sat fifth until the paddock turn and moved alongside the leaders by the time they reached the 1:29 third stanza. Always A Mystery (27-1, McGwire Sowers) followed his cover on the outside and came into contention as he rounded the final turn.
As the play began, the pioneering Arts Flight had his work cut out for him as the two challengers set their sights on the wire, gaining momentum with every step. Through mid-stretch, Arts Flight fought back and were able to keep the potential spoilers at bay as they crossed the finish line together in 1:59.3.
ARTICLE FLIGHT REPEAT
Arts Flight, trained by Sara Harrington and owned by Mac Stables, won by three parts of a length for its second win in a row and eighth of the season. He returned $2.60 and was bred in Maine by Lynn-Marie Plouffe.
Grand Gallop Semalu finished second, just a quarter length ahead of the fast-closing Always A Mystery, who finished third.
In other news, Todd Whitney won the $4,000 Maine Amateur Driving Club event with Lear Seelster in 2:02 for $4.80.
Leader Kevin Switzer Jr. swept almost half the map and won six races on the program, including the last four races of the day. Nick Graffam, Aaron Hall and Steve Wilson all took doubles. Conditioner Zach Vickerson enjoyed a training triple.
Switzer Jr. holds a nearly insurmountable lead in the Cumberland driver standings, sitting atop the leaderboard with 83 trips to the winner’s circle. McGwire Sowers (51), Aaron Hall (40), Nick Graffam (38) and Drew Campbell (37) round out the top five.
Racing resumes on Saturday (November 22) at First Tracks Cumberland, with the Winter Festival’s extended pari-mutuel meeting continuing its weekend action throughout the month of November. Cumberland Raceway will transition to three days of racing per week (Friday-Saturday) beginning December 5. The 18-day competition runs until December 21, 2025.
For more information visit our website: https://firsttrackscumberland.
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For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
Through Chris Tullyfor First Tracks Cumberland
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