A late scratch lame from the Breeders Crown Final in which he was favoured on Saturday night, three-year-old Always B Miki required surgery for a fractured pastern on Monday morning.
Trainer Joe Holloway expressed concern after Always B Miki kicked a wall in his paddock before Saturday's race. According to harnessracing.com, Always B Miki's surgery was on his left hind long (P-1) pastern.
"Dr. [Patty] Hogan used four screws to repair the fracture and said she was very optimistic about the colt returning to the races at 100 percent of his ability," co-owner Mitchel Skolnick told harnessracing.com. "We have every reason to be optimistic, and we're thankful that whatever caused him to suffer the injury, that it showed up before he raced."
The short-term road to recovery for Always B Miki recommends 30 days of stall rest followed by 30 days of hand-walking or Equi-Cizer use before resuming training.
Always B Miki (Always A Virgin - Artstopper) was a winner of 12 of 19 starts at three, with earnings in excess of $794,000 for Skolnick's Bluewood Stable, Val D'Or Farms and Roll The Dice Stable. The hottest sophomore pacer coming into the Breeders Crown, Always B Miki had not finished worse than second in his last 12 starts.