John (Shark) Hanlon
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Shark Hanlon is an Irish National Hunt horse trainer who has achieved considerable success in the sport. He has trained multiple horses to victory in top-level races, and is known for his skill in developing young horses into talented runners.
Early life and career[edit]
From Bagenalstown, County Carlow, John "Shark" Hanlon[1] was involved in the cattle-trading business and his career in horse racing began with the Mullins brothers, Willie, Tony and George. He took out his own license to train in 2006, had his first runner in January of the following year and four months later enjoyed his first winner when the Patrick Mullins (claiming 7lbs)-ridden Shaimaa won a bumper at the Easter Festival at Cork.
Training career[edit]
Since starting his training career, Hanlon has trained a number of notable horses to success. One of his most famous horses is Hewick[2], a bay gelding who was bought for a cheap 800 euro. Hewick was owned by TJ Mc Donald. Hanlon purchased Hewick [2]down the road from his stables in Goresbridge for 800 euros. Hewick[2] went on to win a number of high-profile races, including the American Grand National[3], he won the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown Park[4]. He also fell the Guinness Kerry National [5]in Listowel at the last fence and won the Tote Galway Plate[6] in the same year. Hanlon has confirmed that Hewick heads for the Boodles Gold Cup at Cheltenham in March and follows that race with the Randox Grand National in Aintree in April.
Darenjan, Luska Lad and the 2009 Punchestown festival winner Truckers Delight were notable early winners. Luska Lad gave Shark his first Graded success when landing the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown in January 2010 and followed up in the Red Mills Trial Hurdle, again at Grade 2 level, at Gowran Park the following month with Western Leader winning the Grade 2 Michael Purcell Memorial Novice at Thurles just 12 days later. Hidden Cyclone emerged as another stable star later that same year while Truckers Delight won at both the Punchestown and Galway festivals in 2011. Another major success in 2011 came Shark's way when Alfa Beat won the Kerry National at Listowel in September.
It is not lost on Rachael Blackmore how instrumental Shark was on her early career. She rode her first winner on his Stowaway Pearl at Thurles in February 2011.
Skyace, famously bought for £600, gave Shark his first Grade 1 winner when she captured the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday 2021.
A horse walks into a bar...[edit]
When you hear a joke that starts 'a horse walks into a bar', you are often left waiting for the punchline.
A video went viral on most social medias of Hewick walking into a bar to celebrate winning the American Grand National on Halloween night 2022.[7] Later another video was posted onto Sharks twitter of the horse taking a sip out of a pint of Guinness.
The video had mixed opinions by the public even getting the attention of PETA who claimed it was a "publicity stunt.
“He wanted a pint, so I brought him in”, Hanlon told KCLR Live on the Tuesday morning.
“It was amazing. The rain, the bad day, and there was still a couple of hundred people below (at The Pint Depot). They all wanted to see the horse. It’s great for me, the yard, my own family and the locality around here.”
A clip was shown on the RTE News that night.[8]
Personal life[edit]
Hanlon's Partner is Rachel O'Neill, who is also involved in the horses. They have two children, Paddy who is becoming a jockey and has won many races in the pony racing scene and Sean who runs Sharks social media pages.
Awards[edit]
Horse Racing Ireland National Hunt Achievement Award - Hewick (5th December 2022)
Eclipse Award Steeplechase Horse - Hewick (January 2023)
References[edit]
- ↑ "John Hanlon Racing | Horse Trainer | County Carlow". John Hanlon Racing. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Hewick | Race Record & Form | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ↑ The Full American Grand National won by Hewick, retrieved 2023-02-15
- ↑ "Full Result 3.32 Sandown | 23 April 2022 | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ↑ "Full Result 4.20 Listowel (IRE) | 21 September 2022 | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ↑ "Full Result 6.40 Galway (IRE) | 27 July 2022 | Racing Post". www.racingpost.com. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ↑ "So… a horse walks into a bar pic.twitter.com/QVs9Z4ScZU". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
- ↑ Hewicks trip to the pub I RTÉ News, retrieved 2023-02-15
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