Shark Hanlon reveals plan for stable as ban begins plus a surprise Christmas option for Hewick

Hewick will run for trainer Tara Lee Cogan over Christmas in either the King George VI Chase, the Savills Chase or the Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle, after Shark Hanlon chose her to take over the running of his Bagenalstown yard in County Carlow. 

Hanlon's six-month suspension, the final three months of which he can apply to have suspended provided he meets certain conditions, will kick in on Sunday and he will not be permitted to have runners in his name until March 1 at the earliest.

The King George-winning trainer was initially given a ten-month suspension for acting in a manner which "caused significant prejudice to the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of the sport of racing" after transporting a dead horse in an open trailer attached to one of his branded lorries, with the carcass visible to the public.

That suspension was reduced to six months after an appeal and Cogan, who trains a handful of horses at Athy, County Kildare, and whose last winner came in 2018, will now take over the running of his yard. 

Tara Lee Cogan will take over st Shark Hanlon's yard on MondayCredit: Caroline Norris

Hanlon told the Racing Post: "Tara is going to take over. She's been a lifelong friend of ours and she's the best in the world. You couldn't meet a nicer person. She's going to move into my yard and train them from here. Rachel [O'Neill, Hanlon's partner] will be there to give her a dig out. We don't have many horses running at the moment, maybe eight or ten, so it's not going to be mad busy."

Hanlon will spend time away from racing and plans to take his mother to visit his sick sister in the US. "I'm going to bring Mammy to see my sister in America," he said. "She had the most horrific fall and hasn't been well at all. My mother is 84 and I asked her if she would like me to bring her over and she said she'd love to go, so that's what I'll do. We're heading over there for a few weeks at the start of January."

Hanlon said his son Paddy would play a big part in Hewick's Christmas preparations when a return to hurdling is a possibility in the Leopardstown Christmas Hurdle over three miles on December 28. Hewick is the defending King George winner but Hanlon said he was not a certain starter in Kempton's Boxing Day showpiece.

Hewick: could revert to hurdles over ChristmasCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"I'd love to have another go at the King George, but we'll have to see what the weather does," Hanlon said. "There is the option of the Savills Chase at Leopardstown, but the race I have in mind for him is the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown. That's where I wouldn't mind running him. 

"If the ground goes soft I'd say he might run over hurdles. It's not that he hates real soft ground but it's just that jumping fences is more of an effort for him on that ground, so the Christmas Hurdle might be a better option. I'd be afraid of my life that something might happen to him in a chase on deep ground."

He added: "Nothing will change with Hewick. Paddy rides him out every day and does all the work on him and that won't change. He knows him inside out and does a terrific job with him, and I'm sure Rachel and Tara will do a great job as well."

Read more:

Hewick could go straight to the Gold Cup after Shark Hanlon pulls the plug on soft-ground Betfair Chase bid 

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