Trainer Nicky Henderson has confirmed Sprinter Sacre is suffering from an irregular heartbeat after his star two-miler underwent tests in Newmarket.

The seven-year-old made his seasonal reappearance in Friday's Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton and all appeared to be going well for National Hunt racing's brightest star when he produced a long and flamboyant leap at the fifth.

However, just two fences later jockey Barry Geraghty suddenly applied the brakes and trotted back anti-clockwise around half a circuit before dismounting in front of Henderson and concerned connections.

Racecourse vets initially diagnosed an irregular heartbeat and that has now been confirmed by Celia Marr, a specialist in equine internal medicine and cardiology.

"Sprinter Sacre went to Newmarket first thing this morning following a night spent at home where he ate up and was perfectly sound this morning," Henderson said.

"Celia Marr has confirmed the diagnosis of the racecourse vets and he does have an irregular heartbeat, which is known as atrial fibrillation.

"What she would like to do is wait for a further 48 hours to see is this will stabilise on its own. If not, medicines and technology will come into employment."

Denman is a recent case of a top National Hunt horse recovering from a similar problem.

The 2008 Gold Cup winner had an operation to correct a problem in September that year and although he was beaten on his racecourse return the following February, he was capable of finishing second to Kauto Star at Cheltenham and winning the Hennessy a few months later.

"In her (Marr's) opinion the reason for these situations is that both horses are supreme athletes and they are more likely to suffer from these problems due to the size of their hearts, which in both cases are unusually large," Henderson said.