Exceptional 2003 Lockinge winner Hawk Wing dies of colic in Korea aged 26

The superb miler Hawk Wing has died aged 26 due to colic.

The son of Woodman was a top-class and popular miler at a golden time for Ballydoyle after the turn of the millennium. He won the Group 1 National Stakes as a juvenile in 2001 and was a Classic runner-up the following year behind illustrious stablemates Rock Of Gibraltar in the 2,000 Guineas and High Chaparral in the Derby.

'When Hawk Wing was good, he was just exceptional' - David Jennings looks back on the Ballydoyle colt's stunning display at Newbury

He added a second Group 1 with a comprehensive win in the Eclipse before finishing runner-up at odds-on in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

As a four-year-old he enjoyed his finest moment with an utterly dominant victory in the 2003 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, making all and pulling 11 lengths clear of QEII winner Where Or When for a sensational success that earned a Racing Post Rating of 134.

When interviewed afterwards, trainer Aidan O'Brien said: "He has an unbelievable amount of natural ability. To watch him, he always quickens your heart. He's a very dangerous type of horse because he can make you say stuff, as everybody saw last year, and as I've learned recently, you have to be very careful.

"If I blow up a horse too much because I believe it, the horse can pay the penalty. This is the sort of horse who can do that but he has the ability to go with it."

Hawk Wing: has died aged 26Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

He finished lame when sixth in the Queen Anne Stakes on his next start, coming outside the first two for only the second time in his career, and was subsequently retired. He won five of his 12 starts and earned more than £1 million in prize-money.

Hawk Wing stood at Coolmore from 2004 to 2008 and ended his stud career in Korea. Although generally considered disappointing as a stallion, he produced top handicapper Hawkeyethenoo and Group 3 winners The Bogberry and Shamwari Lodge.

'On ratings he was the best Flat horse Aidan O'Brien has ever trained'

By John Randall

Among all the champion racehorses this century, Hawk Wing was the most difficult to assess and the one who divided opinion most sharply.

On ratings he was the best Flat horse Aidan O'Brien has ever trained and the official world champion of 2003, yet it is impossible to award him the accolade of greatness.

Hawk Wing's lofty rating was based on his 11-length demolition job in the Lockinge Stakes. He led all the way under Mick Kinane and achieved a Racing Post Rating of 134, 7lb above his next-best effort. That makes him the top-rated Flat horse of O'Brien's career, with Galileo and Rip Van Winkle next on 132.

However, his detractors pointed to his high head carriage and branded him a flat-track bully who had had things all his own way in an early-season race that was run in pouring rain and produced a false result.

Hawk Wing: official world champion of 2003Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Hawk Wing flopped on his only subsequent start, in the Queen Anne Stakes, and Tony Morris described him in the Racing Post as "a real charlatan if ever there was one . . . an old rogue whose Lockinge victory always looked too good to be true."

Conversely, he would have beaten his stablemate Rock Of Gibraltar in the 2,000 Guineas 12 months before if he had raced on the far side and been asked for his effort sooner by Jamie Spencer.

Hawk Wing, a latter-day Roberto, was flattered by his best form, and for that reason greatness eluded him. He lost most of his races and was a beaten favourite in five Group 1s, leading some to call him ungenuine.

He was a rare exception to the rule that ratings are better than any other method of comparing champions. By most criteria he ranks below Galileo among O'Brien's aces, even without considering the latter's spectacular stud career.

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