A. U. Miner, the 3-1 second choice in the Breeders’ Cup Marathon (gr. II), is recovering from successful surgery to repair broken sesamoids in his left front fetlock sustained during the 1 3/4 mile race at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Ky., Nov. 5. A. U. Miner was seeking to defend his 2010 Marathon title when he was injured.

Trainer Clark Hanna said Nov. 9 that the 6-year-old son of Mineshaft is wearing a brace on his left foreleg after the Nov. 7 surgery at the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, located in Lexington, Ky., to repair the damage to the left front fetlock joint.

"The surgery was a success and everything is going well as of now; we’re going to be optimistic and hope for the best," Hanna said.

The trainer said the horse is being watched closely to ensure that he does not put an inordinate amount of weight on his right leg, which could cause him to founder. Hanna said that A. U. Miner was putting more weight on his injured left leg as of Nov. 9, meaning there was less pressure on the right limb