Shark Hanlon: 'I'm a nice, gentle shark - but I don't think the bookies like to see me coming!'

This interview with trainer Shark Hanlon, which was originally published in February exclusively for Racing Post Members' Club subscribers on the eve of Hewick's Cheltenham Gold Cup bid, has been made free to read for users of the Racing Post app as our Sunday Read. Hewick, who came down at the second-last when challenging in the Gold Cup, bids for back-to-back victories in the Galway Plate on Wednesday. Can he do it?

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It depends where exactly you start counting from but it is currently estimated that there are between 500 and 1,000 species of shark living on our planet. They come in all shapes and sizes.

At one end of the spectrum, the dangerous end, you will find the fearsome man-eating Great White – the one that chewed on Robert Shaw and his boat at the end of Jaws. At the other end are the gentler types, basking sharks for instance, who spend their days cruising languidly along the west coast of Ireland, smiling mouths wide open and a hazard to nobody unless you happen to be a plankton or some other type of poor invertebrate.

Elsewhere on that spectrum lies the Bagenalstown 'flame-haired shark', a creature so rare and exotic that only one has ever been spotted in the wild. John Joseph 'Shark' Hanlon, to give him his full scientific name, hunts from the same part of Carlow as Willie Mullins and after decades of toil, sweat and elbow grease he is fast becoming an overnight success at training racehorses.

If the next couple months go well for him then his gathering momentum looks sure to accelerate. Hanlon handles Ireland's second most popular racehorse, the globetrotting Hewick, who has unexpectedly developed over the last 12 months into a viable Cheltenham Gold Cup contender, and the eight-year-old is odds-on to reach the number one popularity spot when Honeysuckle retires in a couple of weeks.

Shark Hanlon with stable star HewickCredit: Patrick McCann

The unfolding Hewick story is pure box office. If Hanlon’s stable star actually manages to beat a talented field to win the Gold Cup then the booming Irish film industry could have another readymade Oscar-winning plotline.

Unsurprisingly for a man of Kilkenny, JJ was christened Shark on a hurling field. By his own admission he wasn't over-burdened with athletic prowess but was big and wild enough to cause mayhem to an opposition backline. In a game long ago, he was being particularly disruptive at full-forward when a shout came from the sideline: "Would someone cut the head off that shark and we can all go home now?" The nickname stuck as a badge of honour – and his fondness for disruption is yet to leave him too.

Baby Shark's early involvement with animals was not with horses. Dealing in cattle had been the family business for generations and, like his father and grandfather before him, he too went into the trade. Does he feel the skills he developed in understanding a beef herd help in his career as a racehorse trainer?

"Well, it definitely doesn't do any harm," he replies. "You have to learn how to judge a bullock and the same way you have to learn how to judge a horse."

He stumbled, almost accidentally, into a full-time career with horses through an association with Tony and George Mullins.

"When the foot and mouth came into Ireland [in 2001] our business nearly shut down for a year and a half," he says. "I started doing one horse myself, then two, and from there it took off."

Hewick wins the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown for Shark Hanlon and Jordan GainfordCredit: Mark Cranham

Hanlon originally focused on pre-training point-to-pointers before graduating to a full licence in 2007 and good horses like Luska Lad and Hidden Cyclone gave him a nice kick-start. There have been a few touches landed along the way, and much of his appeal to his growing owner base is a talent to recognise unnoticed potential in a horse, acquiring them cheaply and then improving them for some lucky buyer.

Examples are many. Skyace, bought from Willie Mullins' yard for £600 and turned into a five-time winner, including a Grade 1 at the Fairyhouse Easter festival, is one. Now Hewick is another. Shark went a whole €200 deeper into his pocket to source the horse for TJ McDonald, another loyal owner and family friend, for just €850.

"I've known TJ for a long time," explains Hanlon. "His father had a horse with me about ten years ago. He's a lucky owner, and a lucky owner is a good owner. He's only a young man but is a very good owner. He loves his horses and is never afraid to take a chance with them. When they are finished here for the season, we send them up to him and he looks after them really well."

Hewick's pathway to folklore began in earnest last April when he comfortably stayed the three miles and five furlongs of the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown under a mature ride by the youthful Jordan Gainford. Remarkably, although he was still only seven, it was Hewick's 25th run of his career, and that doesn't include his three point outings before Hanlon bought him. He followed up in July by overcoming Darasso, a problematic loose horse and a welter weight to prevail in the Galway Plate and was unlucky next time out at Listowel when a final-fence blunder unseated Gainford as they challenged in the Kerry National.

He finished 2022 with a brilliantly imaginative foray to win the American Grand National in New Jersey last October, the culmination of a plan that Shark had been quietly brewing for a while.

"I had the idea for a long time and we knew the ground out there would be quick so we sent him," he explains. "There was no travel incentive money so we took the risk ourselves, spent a few bob to fly him to JFK and then sent him up in a lorry after he finished a five-day quarantine."

He adds: "We were delighted with him. There are not a lot of pots for him in Ireland in the summer, especially now that he has gone up so much in the weights. The likes of Galway or Listowel are going to be very hard for him, but there are a couple of other nice races out in the US and I would definitely consider going there again."

Hewick hasn't been seen on a racecourse since his transatlantic Shark attack and, while his rivals have bobbed and weaved through the winter, he has enjoyed a generous spell of rest and recuperation – ideal for a horse who thrives on better ground in summer weather.

The state of the ground is a key factor in any decision Hanlon will make about his horse.

"I kept him in America for about ten days after the race to let him get a bit of sun on his back and it was brilliant for him. Then we brought him back slowly and he's done very well, did two bits of work in the last week. We are very happy with him.

"He is a summer horse, but usually in the Gold Cup the ground comes up good and if it is good then he is entitled to go for it. He's better on good ground, he won at Galway on it. In America it rained the day before his race, so I don't mind a small bit of cut in the ground, but I know they are already watering Cheltenham and I want them to turn the taps off as quickly as possible!"

Shark Hanlon and Jordan Gainford after Hewick's 2022 Galway Plate winCredit: Patrick McCann

The uncertainty over the ground explains why he gave Hewick an eyebrow-raising entry in the Stayers' Hurdle.

"It's just that if the ground was soft or if there was going to be a lot of rain on Friday then I'd think about running him in the Stayers'," he says. "That was the only reason for that."

Watering is a topic close to Hanlon's heart. Asked what he would change if he bossed Irish racing for a day, he replies swiftly and passionately.

"I think overwatering during the summer in Ireland is a disaster," he insists. "We have winter for long enough and when the summer ground comes it should be left as it is. Now, I know that we want safe ground, but this thing about watering summer ground is very, very wrong. A lot of the small fellas have horses that like good ground and now it's nearly impossible to get it in the summer. Overwatering the tracks in the summer is a bit of a disgrace."

And a second change? "I'd love to see a race coming into the likes of Cheltenham for horses that cost less than a hundred grand. An awful lot of horses are being bought for big money and an awful lot for small money and they deserve a better chance. If you bought privately you wouldn't be let into the race."

Realistically, Hewick needs to improve by at least another 10lb from his current mark of 167 if his fairytale is to continue in the Cotswolds on St Patrick's Day, but this tough and talented beast is an unusual horse. And fairytales can come true.

Few top-level animals have run as often by the age of eight and even fewer continue his level of recent improvement with so many miles on the clock. Hanlon is adamant his horse has earned the right to take his chance in the race but is pragmatically realistic about the depth of the challenge he faces. He also harbours a nagging worry over the controversial new whip rules rolled out by the BHA. He is puzzled by the timing of the changes and concerned by the chaos they may inflict at the festival.

"I don't think the jockeys, English or Irish, understand it yet to be honest with you," he says. "It's a big thing for racing. It's a big thing because you have your jockey riding the horse and he has it in the back of his head that the last thing we need is having a winner over there and then finding out he's had a few slaps too many and they throw him out. I just can't understand why they didn't start it in April, why didn't they start this after Aintree and give all the jockeys a reasonable chance to get into the swing of things.

"It would be a disaster if whoever wins the Gold Cup has it taken off them. That would be some disaster."

A final question then, Shark. Where exactly do you lie on the spectrum, fierce or gentle end?

"That's an easy one. I'm a gentle shark, a nice, gentle shark," he chuckles, sounding almost hurt that anybody would ask otherwise. Would the bookmakers agree? He reflects a while, giving himself a couple of seconds, unusual for a man whose relationship to words is that of a firehose to water.

"Well, maybe not them," he finally concedes. "I don't think the bookies like to see me coming!"

Jordan Gainford celebrates winning the 2022 Galway Plate on HewickCredit: Patrick McCann

Jordan Gainford: 'He takes it all on the chin, win or lose'

Jordan Gainford's career is on the same upward trajectory as his beloved Hewick. Following a successful stint in point-to-points, the Wexford native turned professional in 2021 and enjoyed his first Cheltenham Festival win on The Shunter for Emmet Mullins in front of the Covid-quietened stands the following month. Despite Davy Russell's return, the 22-year-old has increasingly impressed of late in his role as Jack Kennedy's understudy at Gordon Elliott's all-conquering stable and his association with Hewick ensures he should have a chance of winning the biggest race of them all.

What was your first impression of Shark?

I met him first when I was riding out when I was about 14. I remember riding out beside Brian Hayes thinking I was the bees' knees. Shark was very relaxed. I remember he put me up that first morning and said, 'Drive on, there won't be a bother on you'. You could see immediately that it was a steady run ship. I think his trick is to keep everything as simple as possible, I've never seen him complicate things.

When did you first ride for the stable?

My first ride was in an amateur riders' hurdle at Clonmel. I rang him beforehand and all he said to me was, 'Aah, just go around and enjoy yourself', so I did. He rang me back afterwards and said, 'Thanks, I'm very happy with that'. The next time, I think, was when I was second on Hewick in a handicap chase at Listowel. He absolutely takes it all on the chin, win or lose. He's been in the game a long time and has seen it all before, all the ups and downs.

What's he like on the bad days?

I remember when we unseated at Listowel in the Kerry National he came and found me in the weighing room afterwards and gave me a quiet tap on the head and said, 'Forget it, don't worry about it'. Not many would do that.

Tell us about the American adventure...

I think it was that same day that he said to me we were going to America. I just looked at him as if he was half-mad, but he said straight away that he wanted me to ride and off we went from there. I didn't see him until the morning of the actual race when he pulled in this fine, big jeep with a big smile on his face, delighted with himself. He left it all up to me, never tied me down with instructions. All he said was, 'You know what to do yourself and I know that you'll do your best, and that's the main thing'.

Can Hewick win the Gold Cup?

I think if the ground comes up good then he has a real, sound chance. He has speed, we saw that at Galway, and he stays very well, that won't be an issue. Last year his first run was at Uttoxeter, this year it's the Gold Cup. He kept strengthening up. Every time I sat on him, I could feel him getting stronger, so I think he's a good price at 20-1.

Apart from Hewick, what have you to look forward to at Cheltenham?

To be honest I don't know yet how many rides I'll have there. I'm based with Gordon Elliott and he'll have plenty of runners so things are still all up in the air a bit. We'll have to see what we have.

JJ Hanlon: fierce shark or gentle shark?

He is 100 per cent a gentle shark – 100 per cent! In fact, I don't think I have ever heard a cross word from him, never returned to the parade ring and seen him looking at me as if I had four heads. He listens to you, and then tells you what he thinks. It works.

More Sunday Reads:

Martin Pipe: 'I wanted to commit suicide. I really did, knowing the world was against me' 

Leonna Mayor: 'People have no idea what my life has been like - I've no reason to be ashamed' 

Sir Henry Cecil remembered: 'The public have always been fantastic to me and I really don't know why' 

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