Large eddy simulation (LES) is used to investigate the structure of the laminar horseshoe vortex (HV) system and the dynamics of the necklace vortices as they fold around the base of a circular cylinder mounted on the flat bed of an open channel for Reynolds numbers defined with the cylinder diameter D smaller than 4460. The study concentrates on the analysis of the structure of the HV system in the periodic breakaway sub-regime which is characterized by the formation of three main necklace vortices. ...