Remembering Connel Willis

This writer was extremely saddened to hear of the passing of harness racing trainer-driver Connel Willis this past week. While at 89, Connel without a doubt lived a rich and full life and was well known to most on the Illinois racing circuit, during the heyday years of Sportsman’s Park, I had the privilege of being stabled next to him on the east side of “Barn D,” at what was first a five-eighths mile oval, before transitioning into a seven-eighths oval.

First of all, Connel was like most of us in the horse business—he had a routine and he stuck to it. He was generally at the barn by 5 a.m. at the latest, and after his jogging and first set of training chores were finished, he’d start cooking for the help, and for anyone else in the barn that cared to share a breakfast with him, usually around 8:30 or 9 a.m. Connel would then don a white apron and sometimes would even have a white chef’s hat, and the smell of the ham, eggs, toast, or whatever else he was cooking up, would waft down the barn aisle.

Inevitably, though I usually declined, Connel would stroll down the barn aisle with his casual saunter and say to me, “hey woman, we got all kinds of goodies down there if you’re hungry. We got eggs, we got ham, we got toast—hell, we even got grits and mush!”

Then he’d turn around and saunter back, and he and his help, and several friends, would enjoy a hearty breakfast, compliments of Connel.

As well, Connel was never short on stories or advice, and was always there to lend a hand or help with a training set to myself, or to the Lyons boys (Darryl, Doug, and Dennis), who were also stabled on that side of the barn.

One more than one occasion, if I was struggling to get a trotter rigged just right, Connel was there to help, or if he saw me going to the track with a cantankerous youngster who was acting more like an orangutan than a racehorse, he would come of the barn and grab the bridle and explain to the fractious one that “you’d better straighten up here now!” And guess what, when Connel spoke, the horses listened.

Connel gave me a lot of advice over the years, but more importantly, he became a friend, a mentor, and someone to look up to. He and I and a ragtag group of misfits often traveled to county fairs together, most memorably one time to the Fairbury Fair, where he picked up several catch drives, steering them all to the winner’s circle, and where, when the day was finished, we all enjoyed some greasy fair food together.

Many in the Midwest harness circles will recall that Connel was the trainer-driver of two Illinois Harness Horse Hall of Famers—one trotter and one pacer. First, there was Taurus Bomber, a son of Adios Bomber-Go Ahead, who began training with Connel in the fall of 1972. Soon, talk around the barn area was that Willis had something special. Numerous times during his 2 and 3-year-old seasons Sportsman’s Park track announcer Gil Levine could be heard to say, “here comes the bomber!” in reference to the great pacer.

One of Taurus Bomber’s finest moments as a sophomore came when he captured the $45,000 Pete Langley Memorial on July 3, 1974. With Willis at the controls, Taurus Bomber sailed from 11^th at the half-mile pole to first under the wire in 1:59 over Sportsman’s then-five-eighths mile oval.

Two years later, he set the fastest mark of the meet by an Illinois-bred at Sportsman’s by scoring in 1:57.3 in an Invitational event. Continuously, Taurus Bomber racked up wins and records, besting some of the finest pacers on the grounds, including the likes of Thorpe Messenger, Goose Filter, Smashing Don and Pretty Direct, to name just a few.

Racing from 1973 through 1980, Taurus Bomber amassed 40 wins, 22 seconds and 17 thirds in 111 career starts, earning $451,356 for Willis, who owned, trained, and drove him throughout his career, donned in his familiar red, white and green silks.

Taurus Bomber took his top mark of 1:54.3 at age five and scored records every year he raced: as a freshmen he took a mark of 2:02.1; at three, 1:58.2; at four, he scored in 1:58 at Washington Park en route to a season that saw him earn $69,945, winning eight of 19 starts that season.

As a 5-year-old Taurus Bomber earned $72,383 from an 11-1-4 record in 22 starts, and the following year (1977) as a 6-year-old he scored in 1:56.4 triumph at Springfield, winning ten starts with six seconds and five thirds in 25 trips behind the gate. At age seven he prevailed in 1:55.3 in a DuQuoin contest and earned $108,660 that season from nine wins, eight seconds, and a trio of thirds in 28 starts.

The following year (1979) he took an 8-year-old record of 2:04.2h at Maywood on Nov. 21, having sat out a good part of the season and earned $18,770. His final year saw him win in 2:05.3 at Sportsman’s on a chilly January 3, 1980, and he retired after his 9-year-old campaign with another $17,972 earned for Connel.

Retired to the breeding shed where he stood for 15 seasons, Taurus Bomber had mild success as a stallion, producing 33 pacers and two trotters who earned $514,293. Though some were talented, none could match the unparalleled success of their famous father. For his efforts, Taurus Bomber was elected to the Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Hall of Fame in 1982.

Appropriately, Connel was elected in that same Hall of Fame in 1987, alongside fellow drivers Dave Magee and Jim Curran.

A few years later, Connel would find success with a gelded son of Back Fin-Miss Flossy named Gumcorner Lad. Foaled in 1988, the venerable trotter with the flawless gait would soon become the favorite of Prairie State fans under Connel’s tutelage.

Gumcorner Lad churned out 11 wins, four seconds, and two thirds as a 2-year-old in 1990 as a freshman and followed that up with a 3-year-old campaign that saw him win 13 of 23 starts and adding another $94,419 to his coffers.

In 1994, as a 4-year-old, he scored a career mark of 1:56.2 on August 17 at Springfield in an ICF event. He remained ever versatile, entering the winner’s circle of Sportsman’s, Maywood, Balmoral, and Fairmount Park that season, and earning another $84,878.

At age 5, Gumcorner Lad had his finest season, earning another $113,776 by winning 12 of 28 starts, all in the Invitational or Free For All ranks. The unique aspect of this trotter was that he raced during the double-header meets of Hawthorne all the way through to the end of the year at Fairmount Park—winning both ends of that season with Connel at the lines.

Gumcorner Lad continued his dominance of the Illinois trotting ranks until his retirement at the end of his 11-year-old season, after taking a mark of 11, 1:58.1 at Fairmount Park in February. He had earned $669,128 during his stellar career.

Like his two best performers, Connel was no slouch in the statistics department—having begun driving well before the USTA started keeping stats on drivers and trainers—but those records indicated that Connel piloted 2,266 winners to $9,234,773 in earnings from 1977 through 2015. As well, as a conditioner, he has a 116-102-118 record from 819 starts and $914,299 in career earnings.

All that being said, with his Kentucky draw, and funny stories, Connel was, like the rest of us, unique. And, like the rest of us, he had his flaws, however those were always out shadowed by his good humor, and his willingness to help a fellow horseman. Even in later years, when I would run into Connel somewhere in Illinois, he was quick to smile, give a hug, and never failed to regale me with a funny story.

Though its likely most folks will remember Connel in his colorful driving silks steering  Gumcorner Lad or Taurus Bomber to victory, you can bet this writer and a group of brothers will forever remember Connel as the jolly horseman at the other end of Barn D, laughing with his help, skewer in hand, and cooking up a wicked breakfast.

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink