Harness: Fourth Dimension to miss remainder of 2018

At the close of 2017 Fourth Dimension was named Dan Patch 2-Year-Old Trotting Colt of the Year and was the winter book favorite to win the Hambletonian. Dreams of standing in the winner’s circle for the trotting classic never materialized and now the colt will remain on the sidelines due to a fracture in his left knee.

“We are not sure what the plan is for his future,” said Marcus Melander, who trains the colt for Courant Inc. “He needs four months of rest and then we can decide. He has a great pedigree and certainly some stud value as a 2-year-old champion. We’ll have to see if someone has interest in him as a stud.”

Fourth Dimension began the year with a second place finish on June 15 at Tioga Downs and Melander thought he had him in great shape heading into an elimination of the Earl Beal Memorial at The Downs at Pocono. During that race he made a break which may have caused the fracture.

“Before the Beal he warmed up great. In the last turn when he made that break, I think something happened and he did something to himself,” said Melander. “We took x-rays after the race but didn’t find anything. Then we took special x-rays which took time that revealed the fracture.”

A son of Chapter Seven out of Corazon Blue Chip by Muscle Hill, Fourth Dimension won 8 of 11 races as a 2-year-old and earned $397,410. In his abbreviated sophomore campaign, he raced four times without recording a victory.

Fourth Dimension's major victories include the Valley Victory at The Meadowlands and International Stallion Stake at Red Mile. He also set or equalled track records at Monticello and Yonkers Raceways.