[NoChanceToDance]

Ptarmigan Ridge.

by Gordon Brown
.

LINDA PERRATT'S veteran sprinter Ptarmigan Ridge has been put down after suffering a serious accident on the gallops over the weekend.

The 11-year-old fractured his off-fore when working at Ayr racecourse on Saturday morning, while his regular rider Derek Loy broke a collarbone and suffered a damaged lung in the incident.

“It all happened very quickly on a bend and was truly awful,” Perratt said.

“We did all we could to save him but in the end the injury was just too bad. Derek is out of hospital and part of his lung was separated as well as the damage to his collarbone.

“Ptarmigan Ridge was a real favourite in the yard and he's been a pleasure to have had here this past nine and a half years. He won a couple of nice sprints at Haydock as well asone at Chester and several more at Ayr and Catterick. “He took us to some nice places as we also ran him at Epsom, Ascot and York and the plan was to run him again on consecutive days at Ayr later this week, including in the race which he wonlast year. He was holding his form well and was just touched off by a neck at Musselburgh four runs ago - he was a horse who loved being in training.”

Ptarmigan Ridge was owned and bred by Heather Galbraith at Mauchline, just 12 miles from Ayr and that is the scene of his final resting place.

“He's buried in the paddock area near where he was foaled,” Perratt added.

“It's such a shame this has happened as he was still an entire and could have had an enjoyable retirement as a stallion.”

Ptarmigan Ridge won eight of his 89 starts and earned nearly £118,000 in win and place prize-money. He raced almost exclusively at the minimum trip in recent seasons although he did show some form at 6f.