‘It’s gutting’: Chris Hughes’ horse withdrawn from racing at Fairyhouse

Chris Hughes has said he is 'gutted' that his horse was taken off the card at Fairyhouse this weekend.

The Easter festival drew huge crowds but those who turned up to see Annie Mac will have been disappointed. The Jonjo O'Neill-trained horse was due to run in the third race of of the day yesterday but was withdrawn due to a passport issue. "The vaccine required was not recorded in the passport," Dr Lynn Hillyer, the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board’s chief veterinary officer, said. Annie Mac was the only British horse on the card yesterday. Chris, an ambassador for Coral Champions Club which owns the horse, had travelled to Ireland for the event with girlfriend Jesy Nelson.

"I'll watch the racing today but it's disappointing obviously, Annie was flying the flag for the British today. It seems to have been prematurely withdrawn," he told Independent.ie. "There's nothing too much to add - she has been vaccinated so she has all the right stuff, she just doesn't have the right stamp on her passport. "It's something that you could prove in 10 minutes but she has been withdrawn without speaking to anyone involved in the horse. It's gutting."

It's not the first time that Chris and Little Mix's Jesy have been to Ireland in the past few weeks. The pair, who have been a couple since January, were spotted hiking in the Wicklow Mountains earlier this month.