David Hayes is a son of legendary Australian trainer Colin Hayes. He took out his own licence to train in 1990 and quickly established a top-class reputation across a five-year span, thanks to 31 Group 1 scores, his domination of the trainer titles in Melbourne and Adelaide, and famous victories in the Japan Cup and Melbourne Cup. He relocated to Hong Kong in 1996 and, during what proved to be his first spell in Hong Kong, Hayes was champion trainer on two occasions and established his position as a top-four trainer, notching 458 wins across ten seasons; his major wins included the Hong Kong Sprint and the Hong Kong Derby. He returned to Australia in 2005 and advanced his Lindsay Park operation to greater heights of achievement; he has won majors along the way with the likes of Miss Finland, Fields Of Omagh, Redkirk Warrior, Nicconi and Criterion, and he has achieved a record six wins in the crack two-year-old race, the Blue Diamond Stakes. Hayes formed a partnership with his nephew Tom Dabernig in 2014, and in 2016 that expanded to include his son, Ben Hayes. He is the first trainer in Hong Kong’s professional era to return to train in the city, having commenced his second spell in 2020/21. Hayes returned 47 wins throughout the 2023/24 season and, in that campaign, he also saddled his 600th winner in Hong Kong. He went on to score 61 wins in the following season, a personal best across his second stint in Hong Kong, including 2024/25 Horse of the Year Ka Ying Rising’s eight consecutive wins and four Group 1 successes. Hayes also won the Hong Kong Classic Cup, the second leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, with Rubylot in 2024/25.
