Noonan: Private Harry has to be retired

By Connor Scanlon

Have we seen the last of Private Harry?

The Group 1 winning stallion started his career on fire, winning his first five races straight, but has failed to claim victory since winning the 2025 Galaxy (1100m).

Since then, the son of Harry Angel has lost three on the trot and swapped stables to the illustrious Chris Waller.

But after running third last in the Group 2 Victory Stakes (1200m), is it time for the four-year-old to be retired to stud?

Yulong Investments have already recruited Private Harry to their New South Wales stud roster, and with their recent purchase of Segenhoe Stud, Yulong will be needing stallions to fill that breeding farm.

Speaking on RSN’s Correct Weight, the Noonan brothers questioned what the future holds for the bay.

Nick: “Private Harry, do we just send him off to the barn now? Just ta da, see you later.”

“You can't really see him winning a race of what we saw there (in the Victory Stakes).”

Trav: “Well, he's already been announced on the sire list for Yulong for next season, with their purchase of Segenhoe Stud.”

In fact, Trav is adamant that Private Harry should be retired to stud off the back of that “disappointing” run in the Victory.

Nick: “He raced like a horse with issues, like he travelled up to them, and you thought 300m out, he's the winner here, and then he just had nothing in the tank.”

Trav: “Yeah, I'd say he'd have to be retired on the back of that performance.”

“He's just had three runs now where he hasn't shown anywhere near the best of his ability.

“Maybe there's some underlying issues there with him… They've sent him to Chris Waller, and obviously he couldn't fire.

“He could blame the track, but even still I think he was pretty disappointing regardless of that.”

If Private Harry is to continue his career, he is $21 with Sportsbet to win the Doomben 10000 (1200m) on May 16, $15 to win the Kingsford-Cup (1300m) on May 30 and $11 to win the Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) on June 13.