Popular racehorse Sprinter Sacre could run again this season, after his irregular heartbeat stabilised itself.
The 7-year-old, who was previously unbeaten in 10 chases, was pulled up by Barry Geraghty halfway through the two-mile Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton on Friday (27 December).
He was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat by racecourse vets.
Sprinter Sacre was taken home to Lambourn before being sent to Newmarket for tests. Equine cardiologist Celia Marr confirmed the problem.
But on Sunday (29 December) trainer Nicky Henderson said Sprinter Sacre’s heartbeat had returned to normal on its own and he will hopefully resume training soon following further tests.
“We hoped it might self-right and it has and he has maintained it this morning,” said Nicky.
“He’ll have a couple of quiet days and Celia will come down with all the heart kit and ECGs at the end of the week when he goes for a canter.
“If he passes that, he’s trainable, although we will have to manage it very carefully.”
For more don’t miss this week’s issue of Horse & Hound — out on Friday 3 January
