Hills pays tribute to retired Equiano Michael Hills paid tribute to star sprinter Equiano, who has been retired following a disappointing performance in the Nunthorpe Stakes. The dual King's Stand Stakes hero was strongly fancied for last month's Group One sprint at York after finishing second in the July Cup only to trail in last. Connections of the Barry Hills-trained five-year-old have decided to call time on his career which began in Spain with Mauricio Delcher-Sanchez for whom he won his first King's Stand. "His season has been absolutely fantastic. I'm disappointed as I would have loved to have ridden him in the Abbaye and there was talk about possibly the Breeders' Cup, but his Nunthorpe run didn't really shown his form and he came home and has not shown anything since," the jockey told At The Races. "When a horse says to you he's not right, you can't take on these big races. "I think his July Cup performance was his career best. He put a lot of effort in that day and maybe it has took its toll. "You always need a flag-bearer in a season and he was certainly ours this year. "Those sort of horses, you dream about riding. He had so much speed and he was a gentleman to ride, he did everything right. Sometimes he was a problem at the stalls but he always wanted to get on with things. "The speed he showed over five furlongs was a thrill for a jockey to ride. "I've been lucky, I've ridden a lot of good sprinters. Royal Applause was fantastic and Handsome Sailor. I was very fond of Red Clubs. "I've haven't really got any favourite, but he was certainly up there amongst the top horses I've ridden over sprints."
