The cattle dealer who’s a shark at the horses

Although he only took out a trainer’s licence in 2006, John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has already had a huge impact on Irish racing. Declan Colley spoke to the Kilkenny man

JOHN Joseph Hanlon is a big man with a shock of red hair the likes of which hasn’t been seen since John Hinde’s romantic and idealistic postcards popularised a vision of an Ireland populated by red haired children and donkeys.

There was no colourist involved here; the ‘Shark’, as he is known, has hair as naturally vivid and thick as the lush sward which surrounds his base on the Kilkenny-Carlow border outside Paulstown. A former cattle dealer known the length and breadth of the country, Hanlon is a new breed of trainer, one whose initial burst of success has increased his profile hugely in a very short period of time.