Meadowlands: Cushing, Gibbs having success on the Tri-state circuit

Trainer Heidi Gibbs and her fiancé Ron Cushing spend their summers racing in Maine and at Plainridge. While they have been doing so successfully for years, the couple is most unconventional in that they look to capitalize in the metropolitan New York area during the winter and early spring.

“I’m from Michigan and have raced winters in Ontario and Detroit,” said Cushing. “I think it’s the best time for us to race here with a lot of the stables resting.”

The strategy has paid nicely for the pair and on Saturday they’ll send out three at The Meadowlands with perhaps some of their better stock on the sidelines preparing for future action. “Actually I just bought another one,” said Cushing of Mach Doro A, the most recent addition to their stable that just arrived from the Southern Hemisphere.

“I have a very good friend named Frank Ranaldi who has been finding horses for me for more than 20 years,” Cushing said. “This horse raced five weeks ago in the Inter Dominion.”

Rinaldi also sent Cushing Bettors Fire N last year and after some bouts with sickness, Cushing has been on a roll with the 11-year-old son of Bettor’s Delight. “I haven’t driven a lot of great horses like some catch drivers,” Cushing said, “But Bettors Fire N is definitely the best horse I’ve ever driven. Last week we were in an impossible spot and he flew home. If the race was another 50 yards he would have won.” That was in Open company at Yonkers from post eight and Cushing hopes that his veteran, along with his most recent acquisition, will be able to make a splash in the Levy Series in March.

“He’s an older horse and I think this is the last window for him to take a shot at the Levy,” said Cushing. “I’m not so sure that the six straight weeks is something that will be good for him but hopefully if we can get a few wins and he’ll be able to take a week off.

“Frank (Ranaldi) was racing him at a high level but it got kind of tough doing that. He had just one horse for the class and there are other trainers down there like Burke up here that have three horses in each race,” Cushing said. “He (Ranaldi) just thought this would be a good time to test Bettors Fire N in North America.”

Cushing will be in the bike on Saturday at The Meadowlands in race 12 behind Delightful Offer N from post six. Originally his son Mitchell, who has been doing quite well catch-driving this winter at The Meadowlands, was listed to drive but he got a call from trainer Jeff Cullipher to guide Incredible Shark in the same event. “Mitchell was working for me a few days but he was making much more money catch-driving,” said Cushing. “He wasn’t going to make that kind of money working for me.”

Cushing is happy with Delightful Offer N, as the 8-year-old has earned about $70K since arriving on these shores. “He fits well with that field,” Cushing said.

Mitchell will drive Kenrick N for the stable in the evening’s eighth race and Cushing is hopeful that the 7-year-old will return to winning form. “I’ve been a little disappointed in him,” said Cushing. “When he got here he paced in (1) :50 and :49 and change and was very good. But he got sick on me and since he’s come back he hasn’t raced close to where he started out.”

Kenrick N drew post eight.

Show Me Up drew outside as well on Saturday with the 12-year-old compromised some by post 10. “He’s a horse we picked up for $7,500 in December,” Cushing said. “He’s raced well for us with a win and a third.” Show Me Up is entered in a $12,500 claiming event with son Mitchell in the bike.

Heidi Gibbs has 16 horses stabled with Cushing at Mark Ford’s training center with four of those 2-year-olds. The couple also has four head back in Maine.

The Meadowlands has a 13-race program slated for Saturday night with first post listed at 7:15 p.m.