Unheralded driver Chuck Connor, Jr. suddenly lost his ability to fly in under the radar with a pair of crafty off the pace wins in consecutive races on Tuesday evening
at Pompano Park.
"Before I got to the track tonight I wasn't aware of all the details for that $17,500 Drivers' Challenge here on March 14-16, but I sure am paying attention now," Connor said after piloting Pinnacle Portia to victory. "I really enjoy driving this mare, she's really tough and always tries hard to the finish. It rained pretty hard late this afternoon but this track drains so great and the crew here is just the best. I'm not that surprised to see Pinnacle Portia get a life's mark (1:53.1), and you probably haven't seen the best of her yet."
"I think Chuck is a great horseman and he doesn't get many favorites to drive" said Robert Lovett of Commack, NY, the owner of the five-year-old Artiscape-Frosty Morning mare trained by Janice Connor. "I have two horses with Chuck and Janice, the other mare I have with them is Oceans Motion. They do a great job. We've always thought highly of Pinnacle Portia and she showed how tough she was tonight to dig in and get past C R Hope (Ricky Macomber) and Eyewitness Account (Wayne Henry) late in the stretch.”
One race before the win in the Tuesday evening feature with Pinnacle Portia, Connor executed a similar winning steer from just behind the leaders with pacing mare Quick Step. The four-year-old Bettors Delight-Penguin miss, trained by Gerald Greer for the Pilgrim Stable of Pompano Beach, FL, caught race favourites Dovetail (Mike Micallef) and Marymary Fra (George Napolitano, Jr.).
Connor is in a pitched battle with Joe Pavia, Jr., Tom Sells, Kevin Sizer, and David Ingraham for a top-nine position on the drivers’ list at Pompano by the end of the Saturday, March 5 program. The track's top nine drivers as of midnight this Saturday will square off in a 10-race competition on the March 14 through March 16 programs for $17,500 in prize money, including a top prize of $8,000.
Heading into the Wednesday, March 2 program, there's a Pick-4 carryover of $4,140 into the fifth race and the estimated pool for that wager is $12,500.
(Pompano Park)