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Chester May Festival 2024: Hidden Law breaks down after winning the Chester Vase

There was an extremely sad end to the Boodles Chester Vase Stakes when winner Hidden Law (9-4) suffered a fatal injury after the line on day one of the Boodles Chester May Festival.

The three-year-old son of Dubawi made it to the Group Three on the Roodee, finishing three lengths behind Liverpool FC fan William Buick’s Agenda (3-1), from the Aidan O’Brien stable. He won in true contender style in next month’s Derby at Epsom for Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby. But almost immediately after crossing the line, he took a false step and fractured his leg. Buick immediately jumped, but Hidden Law had to be put down.




Appleby said: “Unfortunately he fractured his leg. He got over the line all right and then when he crossed the road he faked a step on it and basically fell on it. It’s one of those very freak accidents. Unfortunately, we can only go on what we have seen and will not see in the future, it is very disappointing.

“Most importantly, I am so sorry for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and the Godolphin team. To have a horse like him potentially come through the ranks was exciting for everyone. It’s a sad day.

“I have to thank everyone here at the course, they were very kind and they were very quick in what they did. I feel sorry for Wayne, the groom and all the staff at Moulton Paddocks who did this. Lots of work with this horse Will woke up well which is the most important thing.

Rossa Ryan and Forest Fairy (left, red cap) win the Weatherbys ePassport Cheshire Oaks from Ryan Moore and Port Fairy (right, orange/blue) at Chester Racecourse on day one of the 2024 Boodles Chester May Festival, Wednesday 8 May 2024(Image: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Ralph Beckett’s Forest Fairy (11-4) booked her place at Epsom for the Betfred Oaks on May 31 when she landed the ePassport Listed Weatherbys Cheshire Oaks under Rossa Ryan. The three-year-old daughter of Waldgeist had won on her Wolverhampton debut last month. And she just won a fight with Aidan O’Brien’s Port Fairy (7-1) to score by the neck to remain unbeaten after two starts. Stable-mate Seaward ran with an eventual second Port Fairy stood second. On the return home, Port Fairy took the lead, but Forest Fairy kept making inroads on the outside. The pair battled to a match, but Forest Fairy just got the verdict.

She looks set to head to Epsom now and is best priced at 14-1 with bet365 for the Putts’ Classic, behind current favourite, the O’Brien-trained Ylang Ylang, at 11-4 with William Hill and BetVictor after the fifth Sunday. placed in QIPCO 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Beckett, who also came third, said: “It was a really good result all round, the winner is still a work in progress and still learning a lot on the job today. I think he is likely to go to Epsom. on the last friday of the month I don’t think I’ll be too worried about the ground, I usually do a good job for the first day of that meeting, she’s a bit good and I’d imagine it’ll be similar. She was very immature as a two-year-old and we had to take our time with her, I think we were a bit surprised by how well she won on her debut at Wolverhampton, but we certainly haven’t underestimated her since. “

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