Majestic Man enters retirement

• Published date: 19 April 2024
• Publication title: Sports Tab

Majestic Man, the 9yr-old trotter who oozed class right from his first start, has been retired after winning 24 races and over $850,000 in stakes

The Griffins Syndicate, who bred and raced the Majestic Son-Love Hate Revenge gelding with North Otago trainer Phil Williamson, said the time had come for him to enjoy his retirement.

‘‘He is by far the best horse we’ve had,’’ syndicate manager Mark Noonan said.

‘‘He has done us proud. It’s incredible when you think, of those 105 starts he’s had, 73 were in group races and he was in the top three 43 times out of those 73.’’

He was known as ‘‘George’’ after the eldest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

‘‘We just thought as he was a Majestic Man that George was the right stable name for him.’’

A short course specialist with devastating gate speed, Majestic Man won races in this country from Auckland to Invercargill, and was a multiple Group 1 winner across the Tasman.

Such was his speed that in 2022 he smashed the NZ record for a 2000m stand by over three seconds. His fastest winning mile in this country was 1min 54.1sec at Ashburton in 2020.

While he finished up with 24 wins and $855,545 in stakes, his trainer said it could have been so much more.

‘‘He ran so many placings behind Sundees Son, Winterfell, Muscle Mountain, Oscar Bonavena that he could have won well over $1million and then some,” Williamson said.

“He was a wonderful horse for us and his syndicate of owners.’’

Noonan credited the wider Williamson family as the main reason for their trotter’s success.

‘‘Phil, Bev and the rest of the Oamaru team have looked after and cared...