Royal Ascot nightmare as TV star kicked by horse and misses big race moment
One of the rising stars of US racing broadcasting was forced to miss her big race moment as a result of a freak injury. Andie Biancone, 28, has soared to fame covering US racing's biggest events including the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup as a roving reporter and analyst for FanDuelTV.
And while the network has a team on site for the royal meeting, Biancone was due to make her debut at the prestigious event as a groom, leading up a horse trained by her dual Arc-winning father Patrick.
Until he left Europe 35 years ago, Patrick Biancone trained one of the most powerful strings in world racing as head trainer to Daniel Wildenstein, based in France.
He won back-to-back editions of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with Sagace and All Along in 1983 and 1984. He also trained the great Triptych to win the Irish Champion Stakes in 1987 and Coronation Cup in 1988.
At the height of his fame he moved to Hong Kong for a period and the 73-year-old now operates a boutique stable in Florida which was represented by Lennilu in the Queen Mary Stakes.
Andie joined him in Newmarket and was in the saddle for the grey or roan filly's daily exercise while Lennilu trained and was supposed to lead up the two-year-old at Ascot on Wednesday.
But she instead arrived at the meeting on crutches after a painful incident on the gallops. Her sister Marie led the horse up instead.
'Everything had gone swimmingly well the entire week,' said Andie. 'Lennilu handled every obstacle thrown at her with perfection.
'But yesterday after a little easy gallop, we were pulling up, she was great but her company horse came next to her and spooked at a massive truck that had come by.
'He just bucked straight over his head and ended up kicking me in the foot. I was sobbing. Lennilu packed me home, a 20 minute walk back to the barn through traffic and everything.'
She went on: 'I got it scanned in Newmarket. They said it looked pretty clean, just soft tissue but I will probably get a second opinion back in the states. I can't put weight on it right now.'
Lennilu ensured the trip from Florida was not wasted as she stayed on well to finish third behind the Aidan O'Brien-trained winner True Love.
Patrick Biancone, saddling his first Royal Ascot runner since 1988, said: 'She is only a baby. I liked the fact she fought back at the end. We will go home and give her a break and then we'll see her in Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup.'
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