Explosive Matter, who was second to Muscle Hill in the Hambletonian and had not raced since winning the $500,000 Colonial at Harrah’s Chester Racetrack

on August 16, finished fourth in his Canadian Trotting Classic elim, which was won by Southern Rocketop.

The colt had minor veterinary work done on his right hind leg following his performance, which saw him trot the last quarter-mile in 28.1 seconds (tied for the slowest final panel among the nine horses in the race).

“Hopefully, we’ve corrected that and will be a lot better off,” trainer Noel Daley said. “I know he’ll have a lot more go this week. I can’t worry about (Muscle Hill); I’ve just got to be worried about having (Explosive Matter) right. If we’re not good enough, we’re not good enough. There’s nothing we can do about that.”

It did not appear Muscle Hill’s recent travels through the Midwest prior to arriving in Canada had any ill effects on the colt.

“He’s been at three different tracks, but all of (his races) have been like training miles for him; he’s done it so easily,” Daley said. “He looked like he was jogging around there (in the elim). If all we can be is second, that’s all we can be. Whatever it is, it is. We’ve just got to race our races for the next six weeks and see what happens.”

(Harness Racing Communications)