Classy hurdler Knight Salute, the star of the Milton Harris stable, is out for the season after sustaining a serious injury in the aftermath of having a tooth extracted.
The Grade 1 winner faces an uncertain future as a result of the setback which occurred as he was getting up after being given a general anaesthetic for the surgery.
Harris posted on Twitter on Friday: “We are very disappointed to have to announce our stable flag bearer/warrior Knight Salute has unfortunately met with a severe setback.
“He was having a tooth extracted and unfortunately injured himself getting up from the general anaesthetic, he will most likely miss the rest of the season. Our current priority is to make his life comfortable.”
Knight Salute was one of the best juvenile hurdlers of last season when he won six times helping Harris record his most successful campaign ever.
He completed a hat-trick of Grade 2 wins when he landed the Triumph Hurdle trial at Cheltenham, Summit Hurdle at Doncaster and Adonis Hurdle at Kempton.
He finished down the field in the Triumph Hurdle itself but bounced back to produced his best display at Aintree where he dead-heated with Pied Piper only to be awarded the race outright when his opponent was disqualified for interference.
He has run twice this season, finished second to Pied Piper at Cheltenham and third behind Knappers Hill in the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton.
