Warrior soldiers on
Hayes gives sprinter another go in England
REDKIRK Warrior will chase redemption – and the right to stay in England for a third Group 1 assignment – in the July Cup (1200m) at Newmarket on Saturday night.
Co-trainer Ben Hayes is confident Redkirk Warrior is ready to atone for his failure behind Merchant Navy in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.
“He’s done really well since Ascot and he did a strong piece of work on the Al Bahathri (at Newmarket) on Thursday morning,” Hayes said.
“Dara O’Meachair, who rides him, was happy as he showed a really good turn of foot.
“The thing that frustrated us about Ascot was Merchant Navy won it and we’d beaten him (in the Newmarket Handicap) with more weight.
“He is definitely good enough and capable enough, we’ve just got to get the best out of him.”
Hayes said Redkirk Warrior might stay in England for next month’s Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes (1000m) at York – on one condition.
“If he wins, he might go to York afterwards, but he’s got to win this first,” he said.
“All the signs suggest he’s back on track and Regan Bayliss is back on board.
“He has a good affiliation with him and every time he’s been on, the horse has flown, so hopefully he is the answer.
“He ran too bad to be true last time and Frankie (Dettori) didn’t ride him that bad at all. The owners just wanted to try the jockey that had won all the Group 1s on him.”