Scarborough, Maine – Rob Dinning and Drew Campbell remain locked in a tight battle for the driver’s championship at Scarborough Downs this season with both teamsters posting prolific numbers seemingly on a daily basis. Only seven wins separate the dueling teamsters as the 2008 season winds down toward it’s exciting conclusion with Dinning in hot pursuit of the pace setting Campbell.
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Rob Dinning
drives on for
the lead behind
the pacer Raider
John – The 2nd
of four wins for
Dinning on the
Sunday afternoon
card at
Scarborough
Downs – Photo by
EJS Photography. |
Defending champion Drew Campbell scored three wins on the Sunday (November 30) afternoon card, only to find his robust numbers trumped by the up-and-coming Dinning who worked out four winning strategies to edge just a notch closer to an impending December showdown.
“I had nice horses to drive this afternoon” Dinning remarked while leading the pacer Art By Keene from the paddock following the races, “The trainers had them all in good order for me today and that certainly makes my job easier.”
All of Dinning’s mounts appeared up on the bits on Sunday beginning with Useyourimajenation who was seen bullying her way through the second race score-downs before mounting a robust gate to wire 8-length victory.
“It takes two to pull” joked Dinning, “But seriously I do like having them up in the rigging. When they pull on me that often means they want to go fast – so I put her in a position do what she wanted.”
Dinning then worked out the good pocket journey in race three, pouncing to a 3/4-length victory with Raider John -- securing a new lifetime mark (2:02.3) for the Maine-bred three-year-old.
Race five saw Dinning back on the engine, this time with Prince Rama A pointed toward his 13th seasonal win.
“He’s a nice old horse” Dinning confided, “But he’s Australian right? Those horses can be a bit headstrong and you really have to let them do what they what. Prince Rama tells me what he wants to do and I just let him do it. Today he wanted to win, so who was I to argue?”
Dinning capped off the four-bagger with a strategic comeback win behind Fred Ward’s Bamboozled who was overtaken on the lead just past the half by Cohenucopia (Drew Campbell) but rallied through the Scarborough stretch to post the 1-3/4 length margin.
“We never had her on the lead before and figured she’d swell up” explained Dinning, “But when Drew went by me at the half I decided to save my mare a bit and not fight him off. Bamboozled came right back up on the bits as soon as she was headed though and I had enough to overtake them in the lane.”
Dinning makes his next starts on Wednesday and Thursday evening at the Meadowlands – his first time driving under the bright lights at the Mecca of harness racing.
“Driving at the Meadowlands – it’s what we all dream of” said Dinning, “Randy Bickmore and Jennifer Allen, two of the trainers I drive for at Scarborough and Plainridge are taking horses down to race and have asked me to drive. I’m excited at the prospect and grateful for the opportunity.”
He’ll be back before the home town fans next weekend though as Scarborough Downs proudly features live harness racing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon with first post time scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (EST)
