Prime suffers fatal heart attack

High-class sprinter Prime Defender suffered a fatal heart attack on new trainer Michael Appleby's gallops on Tuesday morning.

Sad loss for connections as sprinter collapses on gallops

High-class sprinter Prime Defender suffered a fatal heart attack on new trainer Michael Appleby's gallops on Tuesday morning. The eight-year-old entire won eight times for former trainer Barry Hills and also ran some excellent races in defeat. He made two starts for Hills' son, Charlie, at the end of 2011, before taking up stallion duties at Hedgeholme Stud, Darlington. But after suffering fertility problems, Prime Defender returned to training at Appleby's yard in Warwickshire. He was due to return to the competitive arena in this weekend's Sky Bet Dash at York before heading to Glorious Goodwood for the Stewards' Cup. Appleby said: "Unfortunately, he had a heart attack on the gallops this morning. "We were all looking forward to seeing him run again, so it's very sad for everyone. "It's a huge loss."