Trainer Ben Baillargeon has given an update regarding his recuperation from surgery to his face, which was necessary after one of his fillies reared up and struck him
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After the incident, which occurred on May 1, Baillargeon received 10 stitches to close a gash in his lip and right cheek and learned that he had fractured his upper jaw and cheekbone requiring surgery.
The surgery, which took place May 3, revealed that in addition to the fractures there were multiple bone fragments on both sides of his nose. As a result of his injuries, four titanium plates and 16 screws were placed on his cheekbones and upper jaw and multiple wires were inserted in both his upper and lower jaw.
“It’s getting better,” Baillargeon, who now jogs only a handful of horses each morning, has told the Woodbine Entertainment Group. “It’s healing up.”
The three-year-old trotting filly that kicked him, Cool Creek Breeze, earned a spot in next week's $159,218 SBOA Stakes at Mohawk Racetrack on Friday night with her fourth-place elimination effort. She drew post one for the final.
“She grew a lot this winter," Baillargeon told WEG prior to the eliminations. "She got bigger and is more mature. She has put up two nice qualifiers and did exactly what I wanted her to do.
“She qualified in [1]:58.4 last time. She is ready to go. I think she is going to be a nice filly.”