*Written by Adam Dobbin, Greyhound Recorder.

Champion sprinter Explicit has been ruled out of the Topgun and Melbourne Cup but the dream of a defence of his The Phoenix title is still alive.

The news comes after the sport’s premier greyhound tore a calf muscle when appearing all over a winner in a heat of the Bendigo Cup on Sunday night.

Trainer Jason Thompson said the injury will sideline the 35-time winner of $2.1 million in prize money for at least three weeks before returning to light work.

“If he is to race again it’ll be in The Phoenix and that will be it which was the plan all along,” Thompson said.

“You could see in the run where he tore it and it’ll mean a good three weeks off before we can do anything with him.

“The Topgun and Melbourne Cup are definitely off the table.

“If it comes up as we expect I’ll be able to get six solid trials into him before The Phoenix.

“The slot is there for him but he’ll only be there if he’s 100 per cent right to go.

“The dog has a lot of residual fitness so I’m confident if everything goes to plan he can be there on the night where we want him to be.”

Explicit, which has spent 2025 racing sparingly while his stud career takes flight, was favourite for the Group 1 Topgun and his defence of the Group 1 Melbourne Cup.

If the son of Bernardo can return for a fairytale The Phoenix tilt he will be chasing history where victory in the $1 million-to-the-winner showpiece would see him become the first greyhound to surpass $3 million in prize money.

Sunday’s mishap at Bendigo with Explicit capped off a forgettable few days for Thompson.

At Angle Park last Thursday night, two-time Group 1 winner Excavation broke down when looking to have his heat of the Adelaide Cup safely in his keeping.

The prolific winner injured a hock, calling time on a career that netted 19 wins and $486,543 in prize money.

“It’s been a pretty ordinary week,” Thompson said.

“Excavation has been a great dog and he was going as good as ever as well.

“He won two Group 1s, has a metropolitan track record, ran 29.47 at The Meadows and Albion Park and 29.06 at Sandown Park.

“As good as he was while he was racing he was probably in the shadow of Explicit and Tim Zoo for a lot of it.

“He’ll retire now to stud and enjoy the life of luxury. He’s been a wonderful dog.”