by Greg Gangle, WEG media

Toronto, ON — Racing fans will have to wait until the end of summer if they want to see Bigtime Ball in the entry box. The career winner of $1,321,330 suffered an injury to his sesamoid bone according to trainer/owner Gord Irwin.

“We had him trained down to 2:00 around the beginning of April,” Irwin said. “Then the injury happened. It’s a terrible feeling to have an injury happen to him just a few weeks before having him ready to qualify.”

Irwin was stabled at Southern Oaks Training Center in Sorrento, Fla., for the winter.

“We were looking forward to having him qualify at Southern Oaks Training Center, then bringing him home to Ontario just like last year. This is his first injury ever, so we will take all the necessary repercussions to get him back to the races. We’re hoping to have him back by September.”

The 7-year-old son of Presidential Ball-Keystone Trinidad posted eight victories from 18 starts last season with $275,375 in earnings. He captured the $118,340 Masters Series at Georgian Downs and posted seven victories at the Open level on the WEG circuit.

Irwin, who arrived in Ontario this morning, noted that he will follow the guidance of Dr. Terry Ruch in the coming months for the return of his O’Brien Award winner.

Big Time Ball took his life’s mark of 1:48.2 as a 5-year-old at Mohawk. He’s also the half brother to millionaire Invitro (1:50-$1,983,077). Paul MacDonell was the regular pilot of both pacers.