Ayrton was the first horse that RTD and Price/Kent Racing sourced from New Zealand. It was an experiment that could not have started any better. Ayrton won his maiden at Bendigo by 5 lengths and then went straight to town in the offseason and won by 4 lengths. Mick and Jnr were excited and it was fair to say we were too! We knew he was good, but how good was he? Could he be the Group 1 horse we had been looking for? All the markers were indicating that he was, all the good judges were saying he’s a Group 1 horse in waiting on his times and sectionals.
A short break over summer and with the Queensland winter carnival on our radar, he won again first up at Caulfield and went to Brisbane. He ran second in the Fred Best Group 3, missed the Stradbroke but won a Group 3 Gunsynd over 1600m and we gave him a break to get him ready for the spring Gr 1’s.
Again first up at Caulfield over 1400m he won again and it looked like he was about to take all before him, he was beaten second up at Flemington in a listed race and was taken down to the water walker in preparation for a trip to Sydney for the Epsom Handicap. During that freshen he developed a terrible virus, a suspected spider bite and it was touch and go was to whether he would survive. Life saving surgery and round the clock care by Mick and Shona for 3 months saved the big guy. They nursed him back to health first and then he started carrying on around the paddock and we decided he needed to go into work or he was going to do damage to himself in a paddock.
Miraculously he made it back to the races. His first campaign back you could tell he wasn’t the same horse as before but he was running well without winning and he kept finding soft tracks, which we know he didn’t like. We spelled him again and he came back and started winning Listed, Group 3’s and was very competitive in Group 2’s and an All Star Mile. Despite not getting that Group 1 with him, he was a marvel and was much loved by all who had anything to do with him. Especially his groom Jordan Barry. RTD would like to thank Mick, Michael, Shona, Jordan and the whole Price Kent Team for the job they have done with Ayrton. He retires in great shape and the team have ensured that he will be retrained and live out his days with specialised care as a hobby horse. RTD and owners have made a special financial contribution to ensure he is looked after for the rest of his days.
Thanks for the memories Big A and enjoy retirement…you have earned it!
