Retired sprint star Redkirk Warrior hailed as 'one of a kind'

David Hayes has seen numerous British-bred horses come to Australia to race with varying degrees of success.

Some were good enough to win Melbourne Cups and Cox Plates, while others, for varying reasons, could barely break even time upon arriving in the country. Then, there’s Redkirk Warrior.

"I don’t think I’ve known a horse quite like him," Hayes said on Monday of his freshly retired eight-year-old, who in a 12-month period in Australia put together three blistering performances in Melbourne’s best autumn sprints.

"He won his debut at 2,000 metres [mile and a quarter] and his future was as a middle-distance horse, then he came here to win a Lightning and two Newmarkets – the first of which was first-up and that had never been done before," Hayes said.

"I don’t think it will be ever done again. He was truly one of a kind."

Hayes had already had discussions with Redkirk Warrior’s Hong Kong-based owners Edmund Lee and Jenny Tam about retirement for the horse before he went to the gates for an attempt at a record third Newmarket Handicap victory.

"We thought he’s done his job and, for me, he was starting to lighten off and showing a bit of age and he actually tweaked his tendon on Saturday," said Hayes.

"We’d made the decision before the race to retire him if he didn’t fire and Luke [Nolen] sat up on him and looked after him."

In all, Redkirk Warrior had just 24 starts. But he packed plenty of action into those. He had just 15 in Australia, three of them in Sydney, and Hayes found he loathed racing clockwise.

In 12 starts in Melbourne he won three Group 1s. Four years after leaving Britain unbeaten in two starts during 2014, Redkirk Warrior returned to Britain last year for tenth placings in both the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and July Cup.

He had five runs in Hong Kong – all at Sha Tin – where he won once. He also experienced retirement for the first time at that point as his feet started to fall apart in his new surroundings.

He was sent to Hayes in Australia in a last-ditch hope of resurrecting him.

Redkirk Warrior during his trip to Britain last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

"The farrier did a great job," Hayes said. "He had to reset his feet and once he got his feet right, there was no doubt he was a Group 1 horse."

Redkirk Warrior came to Hayes late in his career so he never tried him beyond a sprinter’s trip, although just last month he was luckless when sixth in the Futurity Stakes when upped to seven furlongs.

Unfortunately, that was the last time he was competitive as the horse was eased out of the Newmarket into 21st place last Saturday.

"I think he was a very good horse at all distances but whatever you trained him for, he could do it," Hayes said. "But he had a career sprinting with us and his results were fabulous."

Redkirk Warrior retires to Livings Legends, north of Melbourne, in the coming weeks, where racing fans can go and see up close the horse that defied his upbringing to become one of the world’s most potent sprinters.

"He’ll probably have a week or so to let down here at Lindsay Park, where we can also say goodbye and give him a pat, before he goes to Living Legends, where he’s certainly earned his spot," Hayes said.

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