Prayer Session and Awsome Valley were the winners of the pair of $10,000 William C. Connors Memorial eliminations for three-year-old male trotters on Friday night at Hazel Park Raceway.
In the first elimination heavily favoured Prayer Session (Dave Magee) was in the lead through fractions of :27.2, :56.1, and 1:25 on his way to a two and a quarter length victory in 1:53.4. Fusion Man (Brad Kramer) was second after a pocket trip and Jersey Boy (D.R. Ackerman) grabbed third.
Bobby Brower trains Prayer Session, a three-year-old Like A Prayer gelding, for owner DM Stables LLC. A half-brother to world champion Triumphant Caviar, Prayer Session has a trio of wins from six starts this year, and he has six career victories. He has earned $114,025 in 2012 and $251,206 lifetime.
The other elimination went to 10-1 shot Awsome Valley (Brad Kramer). Awsome Valley chopped out panels of :28.2, :59.3, and 1:27.1 before he trotted a :29.2 final kicker to prevail by a length and a half in 1:56.3. Gawain Nourrir (Torgeir Hagmann) was next, followed by Natural Forces (Skip De Mull).
Jeff Smith trains Awsome Valley, a Valley Victor colt, for owner-breeder Walter S Fister LLC. Awsome Valley didn't win in ten attempts as a freshman, but he is three-for-four in the win column this season. He has put away $11,440 on the campaign and $40,841 in his life.
