Sacre sails through crucial workout

Nicky Henderson reported Sprinter Sacre’s heart rate to be “perfectly normal” after coming through a crucial workout yesterday morning.

National Hunt racing’s brightest star suffered his first defeat over fences when pulled up sharply by Barry Geraghty in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton on December 27, after which he was found to be suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

After being examined by Celia Marr, a specialist in equine internal medicine and cardiology, last weekend Sprinter Sacre’s heart “righted itself” and he was monitored closely as he did his first canter since at Seven Barrows.