Dascombe pays tribute after Hillbilly Boy dies at Chester

Trainer Tom Dascombe paid tribute to Hillbilly Boy after the seven-year-old lost his life after racing at Chester on Saturday.

Hillbilly Boy was running at a track he registered three of his ten career victories, including when winning last season's Listed Manor House Stables Queensferry Stakes over six furlongs from weekend winner Danzeno, and adopted his usual front-running role under Adam Beschizza.

But it was clear something was amiss when he was headed after the three-furlong marker and Beschizza all but pulled him up, finishing 54 lengths behind the winner.

Explaining what happened, Dascombe said: "It's desperately sad. For want of a better description he had a heart attack and died after the line. It's very sad as he was such a popular horse here.

"He died doing what he loved and his owners, who are just lovely people, were absolutely distraught. It's such a shame but unfortunately these things do take place."

On his memories of the Macguire's Bloodstock Ltd-owned 105-rated son of Haafhd, who won ten of his 41 starts with a further seven seconds and six thirds and racked up £99,972 in total prize-money, Dascombe added: "He won three races for us around Chester last year, including a Listed race, he was rated in the hundreds and an absolute star. He'll be very much missed here at Manor House."