John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has revealed the incredible story behind his iconic nickname ‘Shark’ which has its origins on a Kilkenny GAA pitch.
Here at BoyleSports, we are the Official Stable Partner of John ‘Shark’ Hanlon who recounted his remarkable rise from a 16-year-old cattle dealer to a King George-winning trainer including his close relationship with the Mullins family plus his formula for picking a good horse.
My Nickname Came From Hurling
The nickname 'Shark' came from a hurling game when I was 18 in Kilkenny. I was playing full forward - I wasn't much good but I was big and awkward and kept a full-back busy.
A couple of balls came in and I was lucky enough to catch them and throw them to the corner forwards to score goals and Pa Dillon shouted on the sidelines: "Would someone cut the head off that shark and we can all go home now?!"
I remember we won that final and came back to Paulstown, and they said the man of the match was the shark. From that day on, I've been known as the shark.
From Cattle Dealer To Working For George Mullins To King George Winning Trainer
I was a cattle dealer from the age of 16 with my father. Twenty years ago I started driving a lorry for George Mullins for a year and then I started training.
I live beside Paddy Mullins. We are neighbours of the Mullins' and I went to school with the boys. I ended up getting into a leg of a horse with George Mullins and that's where it all started from.
I worked for George driving a lorry for a year and then I spent time with Tony (Mullins) and that's where I met my partner, Rachel. She was riding out for Tony at the time.
We were very lucky to have a couple of nice horses of our own when we started. We started pre training horses for point-to-points. We were renting a house down below Gowran and there were only two cattle sheds there.
We got the licence in 2007 and the following year we kind of retired from the cattle end of it and turned some sheds into stables.
In our country it is horses, horses, horses, nothing else!
Big Break Came At Newmarket From A £600 Horse
I bought a horse I liked in Newmarket one day when I was driving a lorry for George. I bought him for six or seven hundred quid. We brought him home and I asked Dermot Weld if I could work him with his horses as I thought he wasn't too bad. He asked me if I wanted to sell him. When I said what I wanted for him, he said he wasn't worth that. On the way home, he rang me and gave me what I wanted for him.
Hidden Cyclone was very good for us. He won a lot of races but he never won a Grade 1. He was second in a Ryanair at Cheltenham. I bought that horse in Doncaster for about £600. That's the same money I gave for Skyace. It meant a lot to me to get a Grade 1 in the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Fairyhouse in 2021. He was one I got from Willie Mullins. He was one of his cast-offs!
*Hewick, an £800 purchase, is 14/1 to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup per the latest Cheltenham odds at BoyleSports.
National Hunt v Flat Racing
I love the National Hunt. You are dealing with a lot of nice people. We are cut from the same cloth with the same values. That is the secret. There's a lot of good people in the racing industry.
The good thing about the industry is that you meet so many different people, it is not the same as going in and sitting in an office with five other people! When you go racing, you meet so many people and the best characters in the world.
We are lucky to have so many good people and so many good owners. It is not a cheap game and any man that buys a horse doesn't know if it is going to be a star or no good. We are all living the dream!
A Lot of Luck Needed To Pick A Good Horse
I like a nice horse that walks well, after that you need a lot of luck. You can spend a fortune and it doesn’t guarantee success.
It is important to have breeding too and that they walk well. Then you have to have the Gods with you.
Big Prices For Jumps Horses Are Unsustainable
They have been too high but I think they are dropping a little bit. That will be a help for everyone. These big prices won’t be around for much longer. They are unsustainable. The store horses will have to come back in price and if they do that will give everyone a chance again.
Impossible To Take On The Super Yards
It is impossible to take on those super yards in Ireland. We are working with handicap horses because we can’t get the graded horses. We can’t afford to buy the graded horses. That is the big thing.
Gordon has Gigginstown and three or four other very good customers. Willie has them everywhere. I just hope one of them might come to me!!
Hewick is a dream horse. It just shows that any smaller trainer, me or anyone else, when you get the horse we are all well able to train them.
*BoyleSports has pledged to donate €100,000 to charity if Hewick wins the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
It is just getting the horses that is the problem.
We are not at the top there yet. We are getting there slowly. There are a lot of people above us. We are getting there nice and steady. You have good days and bad days. You just try and keep your head together and stay on the level.
Shark’s Relationship With Willie Mullins
Willie Mullins is a genuine person who will always try to help you
Old Paddy and Maureen [Mullins] were two very decent people. If you listened to Paddy instead of talking, you would have learned a lot.
Willie is a lovely, genuine person who will always try to help you. He will never knock you. He will help you every day of the week as he can. I treat him as a friend.
Willie Mullins Is A Genius
Yes he is. But he does have the owners to buy the horses!!
If any of us had the owners that Willie has to buy the horses we would be just as good. We are training horses that cost us between €5-10,000.
Willie is spending €200,000-€500,000. That is the difference and he is buying a lot of ready-made horses that have won point to points or won in France for instance.
We just haven’t got the financial power to get these horses. Paul Nicholls in Britain has the power too. And here there’s also Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead.
We are in the smaller league. We don’t have the power because we don’t have the owners.
*Willie Mullins to train 10 or more winners at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival is Evens per the latest Cheltenham Festival odds at BoyleSports.
*Prices are subject to fluctuation.
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