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Havlin pays tribute to retiring Sweet William
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Wed 8 Jul 2026
Robert Havlin hailed Sweet William as his “favourite horse to ride of all time” following news of the seven-year-old’s retirement.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden and owned by Philippa Cooper’s Normandie Stud, Sweet William won seven of his 24 races – but that does not really do testament to his ability, as he spent the majority of his career taking on multiple Group One winners such as Kyprios, stablemate Trawlerman and Trueshan.
Havlin rode the Sea The Stars gelding in all 24 races and told the Press Association: “He’s going to leave a big hole in my career, as he’s been a big part of it.
“He has been my favourite horse of all time to ride because he was a character and by the end he had some fan base.
“People used to call him names, but the only time he was out of the first three was last year’s Gold Cup and that was only because before the race I’d convinced myself that he was going to win and I rode him too handy, and that probably cost me third.
“When I cantered him at Ascot to the start the other week I could hear people shouting ‘Go on William’ so he had a big fan base and the important thing is he’s going out in one piece.
“We always said if there was any slight issue that would be it, but apart from when he had those screws in his leg as a young horse he never took a lame step. He owes us nothing and he’ll be happy as Larry out in a field.”
Sweet William wins the 2024 Henry II Stakes at Sandown
He went on: “He’s bumped into all the best stayers down the years, Trawlerman, Trueshan, Kyprios, some of the best there’s been.
“Last year on Champions Day for a brief second I thought he was going to collar Trawlerman, but those are names that will be remembered for a long time. That is why these stayers are great, as they are around a while so you get attached to them.
“He was second in the Ebor and Philippa said ‘that’s his last handicap’ and it was, its been Group races all the way.
“I had been looking forward to the Doncaster Cup as I always felt he was better at that time of year, but we’ve got to look after him and he’ll enjoy his retirement.”
Sweet William won two Doncaster Cups, a Henry II Stakes and a Sagaro and amassed over £1.2million in prize-money.
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