Hawk Wing
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Hawk Wing was a racehorse, foaled in 1999, and trained by Aidan O'Brien.
He was the top two-year old of 2001 in the UK & Ireland, by virtue of a two and a half length win in the National Stakes. He was not undefeated at two, however, having earlier finished second in the Railway Stakes behind a horse named Rock Of Gibraltar. Hawk Wing's subsequent victories in the National Stakes (in an all age course record time), and the Futurity Stakes led him to the position of favorite for the following year's 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby.
The Guineas was a bizarre race, with two distinct groups forming on either side of the straight track, the faster ground on the far side. Hawk Wing was in the group on the stands side, while the group on the far side, containing Rock Of Gibraltar, was travelling slightly further ahead. Hawk Wing absolutely annihilated his own group, and was rapidly closing in on Rock Of Gibraltar only to find the finishing line came too soon. He lost by a neck.
His next run was in the Derby, where his unlucky run in the Guineas was enough to give him the position of market favorite again. He ran a good race, but was found wanting against his stablemate High Chaparral. The pair were twelve lengths clear of a field including the winners of three major Derby trials. After the Derby, he subsequently dropped back to 10 furlongs and won the prestigious Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park. He was beaten a short head by Grandera in a thrilling renewal of the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown further prompting some in believing that he wasn't the most genuine of race horses. A runner's up finish as heavy favourite in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot and a disappointing Stateside trip to the Breeders' Cup Classic further dented his reputation.
He was kept in training at four years old, when he produced one of the outstanding performances over a mile of recent times. A field of six ran in the 2003 Group One Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, including: Where Or When, who had beaten Hawk Wing in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes; Olden Times, winner of the Group One Prix Jean Prat; Domedriver, who had inflicted Rock Of Gibraltar's first defeat in eight Group One races in the Breeders' Cup Mile; Reel Buddy (priced at 50-1 despite having been placed in the Group One Sussex Stakes - an indication of the quality of the field); and Celebration Mile winner Tillerman. Hawk Wing was simply awesome, beating a Group One field by 11 lengths, with second place Where Or When eight lengths clear of Olden Times in third. Timeform rated him at 136, suggesting that this was the best performance in the world over a mile for nearly ten years.
He would never reproduce this form again, finishing well down the field on next and only subsequent outing.
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