from Meadowlands Media Relations

While Jim Campbell is tinkering with Great Challenger, Bob Stewart will have to scratch Eilean Donon from Friday night’s elimination races for the $382,000 Stanley Dancer Trot, the last major stop on the road to the $1 million Hambletonian on August 7 at the Meadowlands.

Great Challenger drew into the ninth race, the first of three $35,000 Dancer elims, while Eilean Donon was scheduled to go in the tenth race but has been sidelined by surgery.

“This hasn’t been a good day, and I don’t have a good story for you,” trainer Stewart said on Wednesday. “We had to operate on Eilean Donon today. He kind of stopped me in my tracks. He developed a scrotum hernia. Fortunately, they didn’t have to take any intestine out, which is the best-case scenario. They did remove his left testicle. He has to be at the clinic for two to three days. He’ll be hand walked for three or four days, and then starts back jogging.”

Stewart’s son of Angus Hall had qualified in 1:55 on July 2 at the Meadowlands, a few weeks after finishing third in the $235,571 final of the Goodtimes at Woodbine. There was no sign of problems until Wednesday morning.

“He jogged this morning and about half an hour after coming in, he showed signs of colic because it’s the same symptoms,” said Stewart.

“He was obviously in pain. The vet diagnosed it right away, and we got him over to the New Jersey Equine Clinic [in Clarksburg] quick enough.

So, the Hambletonian is a longshot. Hopefully, we can be there, but it just depends on how he does over the next few days.”

The path to the Hambletonian has been bumpy for Great Challenger, who broke stride in the stretch of the Historic-Dickerson on July 2 at the Meadowlands.

“We’ve had some high expectations for Great Challenger, but when he made a break the other night we definitely weren’t expecting that” said Jim Campbell, who trains three Dancer entrants for Arlene and Jules Siegel of New Hope, Pennsylvania. “We don’t have an exact reason why he did it. It’s just a bump in the road. Dave Miller asked him for a little speed, and he kind of rolled off on him. He’s still good and sound, so we’re hoping he just had a bad night. I was real happy with his first start back in the slop against older horses [finishing second on June 17], and I was pleased with his qualifiers, too. The horse is acting okay this week, and he should be good on Friday night. We’re not tinkering with him at all. He’s going right back out the way he was.

“His two starts so far are definitely enough to get to the Hambletonian,” noted Campbell, who teamed with the Siegels to win the 1995 Hambletonian with Tagliabue. “These trotters will get enough good races in them. The way they are today, that’s all they really need.

You can over-race one a lot easier than you can under-race one. Five to six starts are just about the right formula.”

Campbell also sends Show Me The Monet in the 10th race and Lantern’s Law in the 11th race.

“Show Me The Monet may look like a closer, but he can go either way,” he said. “He’s a very racy colt, and he can go a good mile on the front end if it’s the right night for him. The race the other night set up perfectly for him [to finish second to Cash Hall in 1:52.4]. I was very happy with that mile. Cash Hall looks as good as anybody right now, the way he raced the other night. He [Show Me The Monet] touched his knee around the first turn and made a break the week before in the sire stakes final. Hopefully, he can continue to improve.

“Lantern’s Law has a few minor soundness problems, but if we can get him straightened out, he can go right with them,” he said. “He’s a big horse and hits the ground hard. Some day he’s going to go a big mile.

“Obviously, making money is important because that is how I make my living,” he added. “It’s so hard to get horses to do well in these races. Anybody can enter in the eliminations. Taking the next step is what it’s all about. You’ve got to work hard and have some luck on your side.”