Trainer Noel Daley will have to wait until at least 2010 to see Big Bikkies race again. He might wait less than a week to see Explosive Matter return to action

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Daley did not have Saturday’s Bluegrass Stakes at the Red Mile on Explosive Matter’s original schedule, but said Monday that it was likely the three-year-old trotter would be there. He also said the horse’s future beyond Saturday was uncertain, and might include a trip to Italy for the Gran Premio Orsi Mangelli at the beginning of November. That could mean skipping the Breeders Crown at Woodbine Racetrack.

Explosive Matter finished second twice on October 3 as Muscle Hill swept the $600,000 Kentucky Futurity in straight heats.

“He came out of (the Futurity) super,” Daley said. “He’s perfect. We didn’t originally plan on (racing Saturday), but I don’t think there will be enough for an elimination for the Breeders Crown, so he won’t have to race the next week. There’s even a chance he might go to Italy for the Orsi Mangelli in November, if everything works out logistically. We’ll see what happens.”

Explosive Matter has faced Muscle Hill five times this year, and finished second each time. He faced him once in 2008, in the Breeders Crown, and also finished second.

In the Futurity, Explosive Matter finished nearly four lengths behind Muscle Hill in the first heat and was just over two lengths in back of the winner in the second heat. Explosive Matter, who was timed in 1:51.3 in the second heat, was more than seven lengths ahead of third-place Tom Cango. He covered the final quarter-mile in :26.4.

“He was as good as he was going to be the other day,” Daley said. “Everything was in his favour to race as good as he could, and he did in the second (heat). He just can’t beat that other horse, that’s all.”

Daley refuses to contemplate what could have been if there was no Muscle Hill, or if Explosive Matter competed another year. Explosive Matter has won four of 11 races this season, including the $500,000 Colonial, and earned $1.1 million.

“It’s hard to compare from year to year,” Daley said. “You don’t know what would happen. This year, we’re second best. We know that.”

As for Big Bikkies, the colt suffered a fractured coffin bone in his right front leg in the second heat of the Futurity. Big Bikkies won his first heat, beating Neighsay Hanover by more than two lengths. He will require three months of stall rest before beginning to get ready for his four-year-old campaign. Saturday’s Bluegrass was scheduled to be Big Bikkies final start of the year.

“We knew straightaway in the second heat when he couldn’t keep up that something was amiss,” Daley said. “As far as the fracture where it was, it was a good scenario. There was just a line there where he’s got a crack.

“They (the Adam Victor & Son Stable) intended to bring him back in the middle of next year; not to give him a lot of starts at 4. He’s probably still on target for that.”

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This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com. *