Beaten Sprinter Sacre to see heart specialist

Sprinter Sacre was dramatically pulled up halfway through his comeback outing in yesterday afternoon’s williamhill.com Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton with what veterinary advice diagnosed to be an irregular heartbeat.

Nicky Henderson postponed the gelding’s reappearance after ruling out the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown earlier in the month when Sprinter Sacre had returned an unsatisfactory scope test, but he had been gleaming with health in the paddock and all had been developing according to plan in the early stages.

Simply unbeatable in 10 previous outings over fences, Sprinter Sacre produced a long and flamboyant leap at the fifth but just two fences later jockey Barry Geraghty suddenly applied the brakes and trotted back anti-clockwise around half a circuit before dismounting in front of Henderson and concerned connections.