Long Walk Hurdle: Buzz set to miss Grade 1 at Ascot after ' pretty severe' injury setback

Buzz is set to miss the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday after suffering an injury setback during his final preparations.

The Nicky Henderson-trained gelding is believed to have fractured his pelvis during his work at the Seven Barrows yard this morning (Friday).

The seven-year-old, who won the Grade 2 Coral Hurdle at Ascot last month, was leading the market for tomorrow’s featured race.

Henderson told the PA news agency on Friday: “We think he’s fractured his pelvis, we don’t have too many details at the moment as it’s just happened but he’s suffered a pretty severe injury.

“He was just doing his last little spin for tomorrow and about 100 yards from the end – bang.

“We’ve had a lot of horses that have recovered from a fractured pelvis to race again. The immediate danger is that he doesn’t have an internal haemorrhage, but we were lucky in that we had a vet there within minutes.

“I was encouraged – we all were – with how well he actually managed to load considering he was on three legs and he was being very sensible.

“There’s nothing we can do in the short term for him, bar painkillers, but the vet is almost certain he’s fractured his pelvis, the wing of the ilium probably.

“The most important thing is that he stays as still as possible and as long as he doesn’t haemorrhage, which is the dangerous part, if he gets through that it’s just a matter of standing still for quite a long time.”

The Seven Barrows trainer added: “We have had them come back from this. For his own sake he needs to be a good patient but he is at the moment.”

Henderson still has two entries for the race on Saturday with Champ and On The Blind Side expected to run, while Jonbon goes in the Howden Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle on Friday afternoon.