Bangor, Maine …. Heinik’s Bythebay (Southwind Lynch) took over the Race Course at the River on Saturday (October 11), scoring top honors in the $25,000 Fred Nichols Invitational during the Maine Sire Stakes Championships harness racing card at Bangor Raceway.
Kevin Switzer, Jr aggressively pushed the six-year-old son of Southwind Lynch out of the car, dueling for the early lead while sandwiched between Call Me Maverick (Michael Stevenson) and Tenzing Bromac N (Ron Cushing), as the torrid trio charged wildly into the first corner.
Switzer took the lead just past the eighth pole and strategically pushed back his attack after squeaking to the quarter mark in 27.4. Taking a long, deep breath, the brave pacer ran to halfway in a reasonable 57.3, with the outside current forming immediately as the soft second panel became apparent.
David Ingraham pipped Two Fold Cold from 3/8th pole, sending Ron Cushing and Tenzing Bromac N into a first over attack, with both chasing a rapidly accelerating Heinikin Bythebay.
After running an incredible 27.2 against a third panel, Heinikin Bythebay was caught in lockstep by Tenzing Bromac as they stared three-quarters into each other’s eyes in 1:25, a deadly fighting stance they would maintain throughout the final turn.
Heinikin Bythebay spread out across the stretch and held his ground along the pylons as Tenzing Bromac N and Two Fold Cold bravely closed in. And at the wire the fans held their breath (and tickets), before the photo finish print declared Switzer’s charge the winner by a nose over Two Fold Cold, as the teletimer announced the final time of 1:53.1.
HEINIKIN BYTHEBAY REPEAT
Tenzing Bromac finished just half a length back in third after the trio battled through a scintillating and fan-pleasing back half of 55.3.
The win was the fastest of the season at Bangor Raceway and was Switzer’s fifth victory of the day.
“That was a great race,” Switzer noted, “Absolutely. These three horses are some of the best you’re going to see here. They’re all good horses and they all raced great.”
“I was hoping to try not to get too much out of my horse, but I got a good breather in the second quarter. And that was an incredibly big back half from all three of these horses. They all raced tremendously.”
Owned and bred by KDK Standardbreds, Heinikin Bythebay was trained to his 35th career victory by Kevin Switzer, Sr.
Live harness racing continues on Sunday (Oct. 12) with a post time of 12:10 p.m., and will be shown three days a week in October with post times of 3 p.m. (EDT) for the Wednesday twilight cards and with 12:10 p.m. start times for the Saturday and Sunday matinees.
For those who can’t make it to the track, betting and live video for Bangor Raceway, as well as hundreds of harness and thoroughbred racing tracks around the world, are available on Hollywood Races at www.hollywoodraces.com (http://www.hollywoodraces.
For complete information on live racing, simulcast betting, gaming, dining and hotel accommodations at Bangor’s Hollywood Casino and Raceway, visit the website at www.hollywoodcasinobangor.com (http://www.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
Through Mike Sweeney for Bangor Raceway
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