Six three-year-old trotters will head postward in the $100,000 William Connors Memorial at Hazel Park Raceway on Friday, July 12, with the compact field having met last weekend in a prep race won by Sir James.
While Sir James and four other Connors starters will have returning drivers, one entry will have a new face in the sulky. Torino Seelster, who finished sixth in the prep race with driver Ronnie Wrenn Jr., will have the services of Hall of Famer Bill O’Donnell for the final.
Sir James, with Mark Headworth driving for trainer Jim Mulinix, has been listed as the 5-2 morning-line choice and will start from the outside Post 6 in the final. The son of Master Glide rallied in the stretch to win the Connors prep in 1:57.1, crossing the finish line one and three-quarter lengths ahead of Longwell. Second choice Theatrical Session finished third, while favourite Powerful Poe, who led for much of the distance, faded to fourth.
Here is the Connors field, in post position order and with named driver: Torino Seelster (Bill O’Donnell), Powerful Poe (Todd Warren), Theatrical Session (Brad Kramer), Longswell (Dan Shetler), Voodoo Victor (Robert Dinning), and Sir James (Mark Headworth).
Named for the late Hall of Fame race secretary, the Connors final is scheduled as the eighth race on the card, with an approximate post time of 9:55 p.m. First-race post time for the 11-dash card is 7:35 p.m.
(Hazel Park Raceway)