Shark Hanlon’s stable-star Hewick will go to the Grand National as a fresh horse after being pulled out of the Cheltenham Gold Cup due to unsuitable ground.
Hewick Heading For Aintree Grand National
With less than a month to go to the world’s most famous jumps race, Hewick is a 33/1 shot with BoyleSports having been allotted top weight by handicapper Martin Greenwood at the Grand National Weights Launch in Liverpool last month.
Speaking to Official Stable Partner BoyleSports, trainer Shark Hanlon said:
“After walking the track this morning, we have decided Hewick will not run in the Gold Cup tomorrow. While this is disappointing, we are doing what’s best for the horse.
"He’ll go to Aintree a fresh horse and we can’t wait to see him run in the Grand National. Hopefully we’ll get better ground there and he’ll do us proud again. It’d be phenomenal to win a race like that and win a huge amount for charity from BoyleSports.”
With the Irish continuing to dominate at Cheltenham, eight of the first ten in the betting for the Grand National are Irish-trained, with a total of 61 of the 94 entries Irish-trained.
Sharon McHugh, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said:
“While we all would have loved to see Hewick write another fairytale chapter in his story at Cheltenham, the welfare of the horse is paramount and we all look forward to seeing him at Aintree.
"We had pledged €100,000 to the Irish Injured Jockeys and Injured Jockeys Fund if Hewick won the Gold Cup and we’re delighted to announce that we will roll that pledge onto the Grand National.”
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