Things are getting bumpy on the Holiday Road. The three-year-old trotting colt, who went off stride and finished last in the Hambletonian on August 7 after wins in the Historic-Dickerson Cup and a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial at the Meadowlands, was not entered in the
Canadian Trotting Classic.
A single 10-horse elimination for the million-dollar CTC is Saturday, September 11 at Mohawk Racetrack. The top eight finishers from the elim with join Hambletonian winner Muscle Massive and Colonial winner Lucky Chucky in the final on September 18. Muscle Massive and Lucky Chucky accepted byes, based on earnings, to the final.
Holiday Road won a qualifier in 1:57.1 on August 27 at Mohawk. Last Friday, he went off stride in a qualifier and finished seventh.
“He qualified okay the first time, but he made a break last week,” trainer/co-owner Greg Peck said on Tuesday afternoon. “The splint (which developed in early August) is still bothering him. He can’t go (in the Canadian Trotting Classic). It’s on his right front, outside of his knee. I don’t even know if he’ll be okay by Lexington (in mid-October). We’ve tried freezing it, cryosurgery, we’ve tried shock wave therapy, but as of today at noon, if you touch it, it’s sore.”
The splint bones are either of two small bones that lie along the sides of the cannon bone (the largest bone between the knee and ankle). The condition happens when calcification occurs on a splint bone causing a bump.
Holiday Road has won five of 10 career races and earned $426,200. He is owned by Jerry Silva, TLP Stable, Four Friends Racing Stable, and Deo Volente-Peck Stable.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
My suggestion to Greg Peck
My suggestion to Greg Peck would be to get the horse in the water swimming for an hour everyday or every other day. It sounds simple, but it might just help Holiday Road, and loosen up the joints. I realize the problem appears to be with the bones, but swimming can really strengthen and help bone mass to develop. Think about it, you don't want to cause further injury, and swimming will not hurt the horse. It will only help. It might sound a little unconventional, but one thing it won't do is hurt him.