After a month-long absence, Lucky Jim returns to Meadowlands Racetrack in Friday night’s $40,000 Titan Cup prep race

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The 2009 Older Trotter of the Year is rated as the 5-2 morning line favourite in a strong field that includes five millionaires. Lucky Jim will make his first start since finishing seventh in his Elitlopp elimination on May 30 in Sweden, the only time he has missed the board in two years. Lucky Jim looks to rebound from post two in the tenth race Friday night for driver Andy Miller, trainer Julie Miller and owners David and John Prushnok and William Gregg.

“I won’t really know until I race him, but his training has been good,” Andy Miller noted. “It was a long trip for him [from New Jersey to Sweden] but he actually seemed to handle it well and came out of it well. He’s had a couple of weeks to recuperate. I hope he’s back to his old self, which I think he will be.”

Among the competitors the son of S Js Photo will face is Arch Madness, who defeated Lucky Jim in his last U.S. start, the Arthur J. Cutler Memorial on May 15. Arch Madness has won his last two starts for trainer Trond Smedshammer and looks to maintain that trend from post six with Brian Sears in the sulky.

All eight starters in the prep race will advance to the $200,000 Titan Cup Final on Saturday, July 3.

Early Hambletonian favourite Lucky Chucky was also supposed to make a return under the lights Friday night, but has been scratched from the sixth race due to a fever. After handily winning his qualifiers for driver John Campbell and trainer Chuck Sylvester, the colt is now expected to make his three-year-old debut in the Historic-Dickerson Cup on July 2.

Bruce Saunders In The Sulky Friday

Trainer Bruce Saunders will join Meadowlands Racetrack's Friday pre-card television broadcast to discuss Rock N Roll Heaven’s role as favourite in Canada’s $1.5 million North America Cup this weekend.

Fans can e-mail questions for Saunders to answer on-air to [email protected]. The broadcast begins at 6:30 p.m.

(The Meadowlands)