Shark Hanlon

Trainer John 'Shark' Hanlon has had his ten-month ban handed to him for bringing racing into disrepute reduced to six on appeal. Hanlon, who trains last year's King George VI Chase hero Hewick, was found by the Referrals Committee of the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board to have acted in a manner that "caused significant prejudice to the integrity, proper conduct and good reputation of the sport of racing" in the removal of a dead horse from his yard earlier this year. Hanlon carried the horse on an open trailer which...

John 'Shark' Hanlon, the trainer of last year's G1 King George VI Chase winner Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}), has had his licence withdrawn for a period of 10 months and received a fine of €2,000 for "acting in a manner prejudicial to the integrity, proper conduct, or good reputation of the sport", it was announced by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) on Thursday. The IHRB is said to have initiated an investigation on Sunday, June 16 after images appeared on social media which showed the carcass of a deceased...

When Aidan O'Brien resurrected City Of Troy (Justify) to win the Derby, he was rightly hailed as a genius. Sadly, it didn't take long for that piece of brilliance to be overshadowed by an expose-style documentary carried out by Ireland's national broadcaster [RTE] which concentrated on horses being sent to slaughter.  Admittedly, the documentary featured mostly non-thoroughbreds but the build-up and reaction to the programme has dominated the mainstream coverage of this sport in recent times. Not O'Brien's moment of magic that arguably should have been celebrated more than it...

Trainer John 'Shark' Hanlon was reduced to tears upon receiving his Eclipse Award on behalf of America's Champion Steeplechaser Hewick (Ire) (Virtual {GB}) and even labelled the evening as "the biggest night of my life." The County Kilkenny trainer sent out Hewick, a horse he famously bought for just €850, to win the American Grand National at Far Hills last October.  Hewick wins the Steeplechase Horse Eclipse Award.@NTRA pic.twitter.com/kjcPrIDDxm — John Hanlon Racing (@jhanlonracing) January 27, 2023 Hanlon made the trip over to America for the awards ceremony where he...