Trainer David Hayes will market Spillway as a good stallion prospect after he was forced to retire the Australian Cup winner after suffering another leg injury.

Spillway, above with blue cap, has been retired to stud. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.

“I think he’ll make a very good stallion for someone and we’ll market him as a stallion now,” Hayes told AAP.

The imported Spillway was shaping up nicely for another Spring Campaign but pulled up lame after competing in a Pakenham jumpout on Monday.

Hayes said that the six year old had suffered a bone chip in his front joint, forcing him to announce his retirement for a second time.

“He had a jump-out yesterday and pulled up sore,” Hayes said.

“He chipped a bone off his ankle, which is called a sesamoid.

“It’s probably a little bit all linked (to the original injury).”

Spillway was able to claim the first Group 1 victory for the training partnership of Hayes and Tom Dabernig when he won the $1m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington during the 2015 Melbourne Autumn Carnival.

Spillway then ran fourth to stablemate Criterion in the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick but suffered a suspensory ligament injury which Hayes thought would end his racing career.

But the English import was responding well to his rehabilitation program and Lindsay Park Team were hopeful to get another campaign out of him.

Hayes said the stable will miss Spillway and added that it would be hard to replace the Group 1 winner who was also able to win the 2014 Group 3 $150,000 Japan Racing Association Plate (2000m) at Randwick.

“He was terrific,” Hayes said.

“Australian Cup winners are hard to replace. And he had the class to run at a mile at weight-for-age level.”

Spillway was a winner of five of his twenty-three starts, which includes three in England, and earned just of $1 million in prizemoney.