An empty winners’ enclosure after the main race was a miserable way to open Chester’s May Festival, after Charlie Appleby’s Hidden Law, who had just taken the Chester Vase by three lengths, had to be euthanized due to a serious injury sustained shortly after crossing incurred. the line in an incident that was also broadcast live on ITV4.
Appleby reported that Hidden Law broke a shot after apparently taking a wrong step while William Buick, his rider, pulled him to his feet. “He unfortunately broke his leg,” Appleby said. “Crossing the line went fine, but he just took a wrong step after crossing the road.
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‘It’s just the force that makes him land on the wrong step, really, such a freak accident. It is very disappointing, I am so sorry for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed [Hidden Law’s owner] and team Godolphin, it was exciting for everyone to have a horse like him come through the ranks.
“He was completely on the right side, picked up, changed leads, accelerated and just crossed the road there. He didn’t jump over it, but he clearly looked at it, and when he landed, he landed the wrong one with the wrong amount of pressure. It’s not the job.”
Buick, the reigning champion jockey on the Flat, was dismissed from Hidden Law in the incident but was unharmed. “Will got up well, and that’s the most important thing,” Appleby said. “He’s a bit shocked by it because it’s not a nice thing to happen.”
While Hidden Law’s injury was broadcast live by ITV Racing, many fans at the track were unaware of what had happened and gathered around the winner’s fence to welcome a colt who had seemingly just established himself as a major contender for next month’s Derby at Epsom.
As the realization slowly spread that there would be no presentation, the joy was noticeably drained from the atmosphere on the track on one of the biggest days of the year.
Hidden Law’s injury occurred shortly after a junction was covered with a synthetic temporary surface, a process that takes place on other main tracks with junctions including Aintree and Epsom, but there was no apparent link between the injury and the location where it occurred was located. occurred.
“It can happen to a horse just running loose in a field,” leading trainer John Gosden told ITV Racing. “It doesn’t happen often, but it’s clear that you can get an injury like this in any athlete. It can happen, and it happened here just after the finish. You see it in football matches, you see it in all kinds of sports. It’s a risk of every sport. There is a risk if you drove here for three and a half hours today. There are many risks we take in life. This horse is racing and winning well, but he clearly just changed legs and was positioned incorrectly. The track is in absolutely pristine, perfect condition, so it has nothing to do with the surface of the track.”
Gosden added that racehorses are naturally very difficult to treat when they sustain such a serious injury. “They’re not very tolerant,” he said. “Someone with a broken leg lies in bed with his leg stretched out for a while, horses don’t like that, they don’t like to be locked up.
“They like to walk around freely… so they’re not good patients. I’ve seen them in hanging leads years ago, which can sometimes work, but you need a very docile horse to tolerate it and racehorses naturally have a lot of nervous energy.
Arrest draws attention in Ormonde
The Ormonde Stakes at Chester has many illustrious names on a roll of honor dating back to Quashed, the 1935 Oaks winner, who won the first run in 1936, a few weeks before an epic battle with Omaha in the Ascot Gold Cup, which is remembered as one of the 20e greatest mutual confrontations of the century.
Brown Panther, who won the 2014 Irish St Leger later in the season, is the last Group 1 winner to win the Ormonde, but this year’s renewal includes several interesting runners with the potential to improve on the stays this year.
Deauville Legend, then fourth favorite for last year’s Melbourne Cup, and Group 1 regular Point Lonsdale will both get plenty of support, but To arrest (3.40)the beaten favorite in last year’s Derby and runner-up in the St Leger, is on course form at the Chester Vase 12 months ago and should improve considerably ahead of his return to action at Newbury last month.
Chester 1.30 Copper Knight finished last season out of form and didn’t offer much encouragement on his return to action at Beverley last month, but has dropped down the weights as a result and is now 6lb below his last winning mark. At odds of around 14-1 based on a useful draw in box four, he could well be worth speculative interest to rediscover his best form, on a circuit where he has already recorded three victories.
Chester 2.05 Little shape to work with in this two-year-old’s girl, but Rashabar and passing phase, who makes the journey from Jessica Harrington’s stable in Ireland, both showed something during their debut on the racecourse. Marginal preference goes to the Irish raider, with Tom Marquand – who rode Rashabar at Newbury last month – taking over the saddle.
Chester
1.30 Copper Knight (nap)
2.05 Transition phase
2.35 Never so brave
3.05 Harper’s Ferry
3.40 Arrest (NB)
4.10 Tony Montana
4.45 Arch legend
Huntingdon
1.50 Fautinette
2.25 Talkative Chich
2.55 Imperious star
3.25 One fine man
4.00 Chantilly Rose
4.30 Squidward Gane
5.03 Handful of promises
Brighton
2.18 Batchelor boy
2.48 Havana power
3.18 Elforleather
3.53 Basilette
4.23 Adace
4.55 Wedgehout
Stratford
4.40 Lud’Or
5.20 Annie Express
5.50 Dixie Cowboy
6.20 R Bernard
6.50 Village master
7.20 Round Ovalie
7.50 Silverbridge
8.20 Telefenney
Chelmsford
6.30 Q Twenty boys
7.00 Hoogland Lil
7.30 Easy comparison
8.00 Tablet conversation
8.30 Marefuori
9.00 Conquest of power
Chester 2.35 Having finished not far behind the next Group 1 winner on both of his starts as a youth player, Never so brave made short work of his performance in a first match at Thirsk last month and has been given a very mild score of 94 for his handicap debut here.
Chester 3.05 God’s Window, a 25-1 shot for the Derby, clearly has potential, but Harper’s Ferry is also in the Classic, has done little wrong in his career so far and looks significantly overpriced at around 16-1.