Links Maverick retired following Sunderland victory

One of the most talented and quickest runners we have seen in the UK in recent years Links Maverick has been retired following his victory at Sunderland on Friday Evening.

Making the announcement on his X account, he said “I’m not one for being emotional but watching you tonight knowing it was the last time you would grace a track was hard. Happy Retirement Superstar- Links Maverick, A dog of a lifetime”

You certainly couldn’t argue with that statement in any way. Having had his 50th race on Friday, he notched up 33 victories, 3 Category One titles and made the Final of 3 more.

He made his debut on 18th October 2022 in a puppy contest at Newcastle over 480m when finishing in fourth and was then a first round casualty of the ARC Classic at Sunderland in early November. His first victory arrived in his next contest in a Maiden contest at Sunderland over 450m, making all the running in 27.00 and he ended the year winning his last three start, once at Nottingham and two at Newcastle, the last of which being a Category Three contest, making all the running in a quick 28.58 for the 480m trip.

However, it was in 2023 where he really made an impact on the Open Race scene up and down the country.

February saw him going unbeaten in all three starts at Newcastle, not seeing a rival when landing Heat, Semi and Final of the ARC Northern Puppy Derby to land the £12,500 prize, with a best time of 28.42 to his name, his first Category One title.

The next target was the PGR Puppy Derby at Monmore in March, and again, reached the Final with all the way victories in the Heats and Semi Final, the victory in the heats in 27.94 being most eye-catching. However, in the Final, he suffered what would be a rare defeat in 2023, when finishing third behind Bradys Bullet, beaten only ¾ of a length.

Following that defeat, three more victories followed at Newcastle and at Sunderland, the latest being another Category Three contest, making all the running again in 26.54.

He was then off the card from late April until trialling back in June, missing out on the Derby, but made a racing return in early July when taking in the Stadium Bookmakers Pall Mall at Oxford. He showed all was well again when breaking the track record when making all the running in a Trial Stakes, recording 26.52, and then went unbeaten in the Heats, Semi Final and Final of the Pall Mall itself, again making all the running on all three occasions to land the £20,000 prize, and a second Category One title.

There wasn’t long until a third and ultimately final Category One title arrived in August, when unsurprisingly by now,he went unbeaten in the Ladbrokes Gold Cup at Monmore without seeing another rival, recording the two fastest times at Monmore for 2023 in the Semi Finals and Final itself to secure the £10,000 prize. A couple of weeks later, returned to Monmore and made all the running in the Category Three Lawrence Jones Memorial, adding another £1000 to his ever-growing prize pot.

He was then left off the card until October when trialling back for a tilt at the Arc Classic at Sunderland, where he made an early exit in the first round, having found plenty of trouble round the opening bends, and that turned out to be his last action of the year.

In 2023, he appeared in 18 races and won 16, looking almost unbeatable on occasions but 2024 was the year of near misses.

His first action of 2024 was in February when looking to add another Category One title to his c.v, when reaching the Final of the Ladbrokes Winter Derby at Monmore but could only manage to finish fourth behind Churchfield Syd. Having landed three more victories on the bounce, including another Category Three win at Sheffield, he then went to Perry Barr for a tilt at the ARC Laurels in April and having won in the Heats, he was then knocked out at the Semi Final stages, failing to qualify for the Final by a neck.

He was then a shock casualty in the first-round stage of the StarSports Derby at Towcester in May, when finding all sorts of trouble when rounding the opening bends, before finishing fifth in the Select Stakes at Nottingham in August. He was then a first-round casualty of the M Lambe Birmingham Cup at Perry Barr but bounced back to form in late September when landing an Invitational race at Romford in a good 23.61

The next stop for a fourth Category One title was Sheffield and having made all the running in the Heats and Semi Final, it looked as though that title would arrive when building up an early lead, but he was denied close home when Wicky Ned denied him in the final strides. November and December saw two more Semi Final exits at Sunderland in the PGR Classic and the All England Cup at Newcastle.

The start of 2025 saw a couple of first round exits in the Ladbrokes Winter Derby at Monmore and the Coral Golden Sprint at Romford and approaching his fourth birthday connections had decided that retirement could be imminent, but there was to be a final hurrah with victory in the Final of another Category Three contest at Sunderland, going out on a high

Speaking on Saturday Morning, Heilbron said “It was always the plan to retire him on Friday. When we saw the competition come up, it was the perfect end point for him”.

“The highlight for me was winning the Pall Mall Final at Oxford going unbeaten leading into the Gold Cup at Monmore, going unbeaten again. At that point in time, he looked to be unbeatable. He’s a dog of a lifetime and I can’t ever see myself getting another to train who is as good as he was”.