Prydwen recovering after suffering heart issue in Saudi Arabia

George Scott has praised the efforts of the veterinary team at the Saudi Cup meeting for the care Prydwen received after pulling up in the Red Sea Turf Handicap.

The gelding was ridden by Callum Shepherd and looked set to run a big race in the Group Two handicap before his pace slowed dramatically within a few strides and he was eased to a walk by his rider.

Shepherd had felt something was amiss and managed to guide Prydwen out of harm’s way without interrupting the race, with Scott’s charge found to have been afflicted by an atrial fibrillation.

He was treated by vets at the track in Riyadh and is faring well, with Scott hopeful the issue will not prove to be too disruptive to his domestic campaign later in the year.

“He had a heart issue, a fibrillation, Callum felt the power switch off and pulled him up very quickly,” the trainer 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.

“As you’d imagine he was treated very well out there, the vets were unbelievable in their care of him afterwards.

“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.

“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 made 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.”