Following the retirement of his legendary father Colin, David Hayes took over the training operation at Lindsay Park at the start of the 1990-91 season. During the season Hayes won the Cox Plate with Better Loosen Up, set a world record of six Group winners in a day on Derby Day at Flemington, and then won the Japan Cup with Better Loosen Up a month later.
In 1994 Hayes won the Melbourne Cup with imported galloper Jeune. By the end of the 1995-96 season he had won six Melbourne and five Adelaide metropolitan training premierships.
In 1996 Hayes accepted an invitation to train in one of the world’s toughest training environments, Hong Kong. His record there was outstanding, winning two trainers’ premierships and training 458 winners, 17 at Group 1 level.
Hayes returned to Australia in 2005, winning the world’s richest two-year-old race, the Golden Slipper, and the VRC Oaks, with Miss Finland, three consecutive Blue Diamond Stakes quinellas, and the 2007 Victoria Derby with Kibbutz.
Hayes won a two further Melbourne metropolitan trainers’ premierships in 2006-07 and 2007-08. His tally of Group 1 winners now stands at 78.
In 2010 Hayes disposed of his South Australian training operation, and established a new training complex at Euroa in Victoria.
Hayes was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
Image Source: Collin Bull