Shark Hanlon pays tribute to 'amazing journey' as €850 Hewick bows out
Trainer Shark Hanlon and son Paddy with Hewick after the 2022 Grand National Photo: © 2022 Tod Marks/National Steeplechase Association.
With the curtain coming down on the fairytale career of Hewick, John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has expressed his gratitude for the “amazing journey” his family went on alongside the pint-sized bargain buy who captured the hearts of the racing world.
Famously bought for just €850, Hewick’s remarkable rise to prominence provided Hanlon and his family with memories to treasure and at the age of 11 he bows out having won 12 of his 51 career starts under rules, but most importantly with his place in racing folklore firmly secured.
Hanlon said: “It’s been an amazing journey and the trip with him has been unreal. From his younger days, to Durham Nationals, to those days in American, Sandown and Kempton it’s been unbelievable and he’s given me memories that for the rest of the my life I’ll never forget.
“He has been here for the last nine years. Paddy is 19 now and Sean is 16 and Hewick has basically grown up with them. Paddy can remember him as a young horse and can remember the day we bought him.
“He was an unreal horse for our yard, Rachel Blackmore has won on him, Gavin Sheehan was absolutely brilliant on him and he was great alongside Jordan Gainsford, he’s been a star for a lot of people.
“It’s only when you go back and look through your phone at all the messages that have been appearing that you get a sense of how popular he really was, it’s been amazing and I’ve never known people follow a horse so much.
“Whenever I’ve gone racing in the last few years people just want to talk to me about Hewick. I guess with me being a small trainer it added to it and people would come from England to see the horse and we never stopped anyone seeing the horse.”
From lowly beginnings, the Hewick journey to the top began to gain traction somewhat remarkably at Sedgefield when winning the Durham National in the autumn of 2021 and ever since was a one-way ticket to racing stardom, stopping off at the likes of Far Hills in America, Sandown, Galway and Kempton along the way.
Flagship victories in Sandown’s bet365 Gold Cup and Oaksey Chase sandwiched an emotional triumph on home soil in the Galway Plate and conquering the American Grand National. However, the crowning moment came on Boxing Day 2023 when Hewick came from the clouds to claim King George VI Chase glory.
Hanlon added: “To go to America and win an American Grand National, to win a Galway Plate in my own country and then to go to Kempton and win the King George was special. Every trainer in the world wants to win a King George and we are lucky enough to have done it.
“I remember being called back to America for the Eclipse Awards and you can never dream a horse of ours would be nominated for the American Horse of the Year Awards. I think he’s the only National Hunt horse in Ireland to win an Eclipse Award and that’s just brilliant.”
The Hewick story came full circle when son Paddy Hanlon took up the reins for the final two victories of his career, with the 19-year-old also in the saddle for his emotional swansong at Cork on Friday evening.
Hanlon now intends on giving Hewick one last moment in the spotlight when throwing an open invitation retirement party next month, before he heads off to enjoy retirement with loyal owner T J McDonald.
“It was very special when Paddy won on him in Thurles and I think we were a bit unlucky in some of his later races,” continued Hanlon. “He needed good fast ground and I really fancied him in the Liverpool Hurdle and then the skies opened two hours before the race and it took away his chance.
“I just felt now was the right time to bow out and if anything happened to the horse I wouldn’t be happy. He’s out in one piece and he’s out in the field bucking and kicking. He’s going to enjoy the rest of his life and will be going to live with his owner TJ in Naas and will be well, well minded.
“We’re going to have a retirement party towards the end of August and people have already been emailing asking what date so they can make arrangements to come over, that’s the sort of love people have for Hewick.
“We’ve got to try to find another one now and it’s going to be very hard to get one like him. He kept a lot of people going and it’s amazing the friends I’ve made and people I’ve had the pleasure to meet thanks to this horse.”
