After being involved in an accident last September, driver Jim Morrill Jr. made his first driving appearance seven months to the day of that Batavia Downs race that was declared a no contest.

Morrill returned to action on Friday, April 4 at Buffalo Raceway and it didn't take him long to make his presence known as he guided My One Percent ($7.70) to a 1-1/2 length victory over Double Class in the $19,286 Open I-II Handicapped Trot.

After failing to hit the board in his first two drives on the program, Morrill got back on the winning trail with My One Percent. After an early encounter with Crazy Ritz for early bragging rights, My One Percent managed to reach the top in :29 over the fast track.

Staying in command through panels of :59.2 and 1:28.2, My One Percent had to contend with a wall of horses behind him, including a hard charging Double Class (David McNeight III) who was three-wide entering the stretch. But Morrill Jr. kept My One Percent interested in the lane and was easily able to turn back Double Class and Crazy Fool (Kyle Cummings).

Co-owned by Steven and Nancy Pratt and trained by Kirk Desmond, five-year-old gelding My One Percent (My MVP-Deweyann) collected his fourth win in eight starts this season. The victory jumped his earnings to $41,799 on the year and to $87,754 in his career.

In the sub-featured $15,714 trot, Valentine Express ($7.80) was able to overcome the outside eight post and wear down the pace setting Cartier Zette by a neck in 1:58.2.

With Cartier Zette blasting off to the lead and Batting Stats hugging the rail in the early going, driver Drew Monti was able to sneak into the three spot with Valentine Express as the field hit the opening marker.

Cartier Zette posted splits of :29.3, 1:00 and 1:29.3 but had to deal with Valentine Express who was first over. The tandem broke away from the field and it proved to be a match race to the wire with Valentine Express managing to push ahead in the shadow of the finish line. Cartier Zette (Joseph Chindano Jr.) had to settle for the tough luck second place check while Batting Stats (Kyle Cummings) was third.

The win was the first in two tries this season for six-year-old gelding Valentine Express (Chapter Seven-Cantala), owned by the Rock 01 Stable Inc. and conditioned by Jerry Nugent Jr. The triumph moved his bankroll to $8,786 on the year and to $285,057 lifetime.

Monti completed the afternoon with three victories while Chindano Jr. collected a pair. David Russo had two training victories.

Live harness racing will resume on Saturday, April 5 at 2:30 p.m. with 12 races scheduled. There's a $2,370 carryover in the Pick 5 which begins in the second race.

(with files from Buffalo Raceway)