Willie Mullins has confirmed that Grand National horse Recite A Prayer has undergone surgery on a fractured eye socket – and requested Aintree ‘look at’ how they can improve horse safety for those who run loose. The gelding was taken away from Aintree in a horse ambulance but is expected to make a full recovery.
Recite A Prayer was an 80/1 shot for the race after two disappointing runs in December, though the eight-year-old never truly got to prove that he had bounced back to form after unseating jockey Jack Foley at the first.
The gelding had cleared the obstacle well but Cloudy Glen, on his outside, was less successful and sprawled on landing, moving into the path of Recite A Prayer as a result and bumping Foley off of his mount.
Mullins’ outsider then ran loose with some of the other horses before sustaining an eye injury. Recite A Prayer left Aintree in an ambulance as a result and was promptly taken to a local equine hospital for inspection.
His trainer has now revealed that his horse is on the road to recovery, saying: “Recite A Prayer fractured his eye socket. They have done a little procedure on him in the Equine Hospital in Liverpool and I just got the news that everything is OK with him. He has a few little cuts and bruises, but nothing more.
“He got loose on the inside and had to pull up where all the barriers were. That’s something Aintree are going to have to look at.” Aintree are likely to analyse their course at the end of the season, with racing now under the magnifying glass due to the work of animal rights protestors at the festival. Several runners fell in the showpiece Grand National, with three horses passing away over the course of the meeting.
Recite A Prayer was not the only runner to leave the track in an ambulance, being joined by Cape Gentleman en route to local facilities. The John Hanlon-trained seven-year-old was pulled up by jockey JJ Slevin after striking himself between obstacles.
The gelding has been retired as a result and undergone surgery on the area, with Hanlon confirming that the horse will now be given time to recover from the treatment before being moved to America so that he can live on the land of his owner, Pierre Manigault. The entire process is expected to take at least five months, though his owners are willing to do ‘whatever it takes’ to ensure that he has an enjoyable retirement.
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