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| Staff Writer |
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Prydwen is on the road to recovery after suffering a heart issue during the Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia, with trainer George Scott hailing the exceptional veterinary care his charge received.
The gelding, ridden by Callum Shepherd, was travelling strongly in the Gr.2 handicap before suddenly losing momentum. His jockey, sensing something was amiss, swiftly eased him to a walk and guided him safely away from the other runners.
"He had a heart issue, a fibrillation, Callum felt the power switch off and pulled him up very quickly," Scott said.
"He managed to get him safely out of the way of everyone else, which I thought was a good effort in the circumstances – luckily he knows him very well."
The 6YO was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and immediately received treatment from the on-course veterinary team in Riyadh.
"As you'd imagine he was treated very well out there, the vets were unbelievable in their care of him afterwards," the Newmarket trainer continued.
"He had a night in the hospital, and he had some fluids, everything has settled down and now they've done some tests they're very happy with his recovery."
Despite the concerning episode at the Saudi Cup meeting, Scott remains optimistic about Prydwen's prospects for the upcoming domestic season.
"Having spoken to a few different people about it, it seems the condition can come in different guises and affect horses in different ways, but the general consensus is that they can bounce back from it with no problems provided they have a steady and sensible reintroduction to work and racing.
"I don't see that it's going to compromise the domestic season ahead, it was just a shock more than anything because he's never done it before.
"He can be a bit of an overthinker, but he was so relaxed walking around beforehand, it was the furthest thing from my mind that it was going to happen.
"It could have been a lot worse and we hope he'll make a full recovery. They did a brilliant job with him at the track, really amazing, we're very grateful to them for all their help and without them it could have been a very different situation."