HEWICK’S chances of adding a Cheltenham Gold Cup success to his fairytale haul of big race wins will ultimately rest with the weather gods.

Good ground is a ‘must’ for the nine-year-old and, in the wake of his remarkable victory in the King George VI Chase at Kempton, his trainer Shark Hanlon won’t be the only one keeping tabs on the weather forecast as the countdown begins in earnest.

Shark is adamant: “The key thing for him going to Cheltenham is good ground,” something which wouldn’t be in Galopin Des Champs’ favour. Nevertheless, it could sway the pendulum Hewick’s way because, as Hanlon put it: “Willie’s horse was impressive in the Savills Chase but he wouldn’t want it real quick which our lad does. I’m hoping by the time Cheltenham comes around, the ground will be good because I don’t think anything will beat Willie’s horse on soft ground.

“The only chance we have of beating him is on good ground, so we’ll be hoping it dries up between now and then.” With Jordan Gainford still sidelined through injury, in-form West Cork jockey Gavin Sheehan from Dunmanway maintains his Kempton association with Hewick.

So what prompted Shark to choose him? He explained: “We knew that Jordan would miss the spin and it’s a shame because he ‘made’ our horse. I asked Rachael (Blackmore) and Brian Hughes, who have both ridden Hewick before but Rachael was claimed to ride for Henry (de Bromhead) at Leopardstown and Brian was riding at another meeting further north in England.

Confidence

The Fenniscourt trainer and his Naas owner T.J. McDonald were forced to ponder further before deciding on Gavin Sheehan. Said Shark: “He’d won a couple of big races the two weekends before, so we knew he was flying and, when a jockey is riding with confidence, it gives the horse and the trainer and the owner confidence.

“We were always hoping Hewick would run well and with five front runners in the King George, we didn’t think he’d be outpaced the way he was.

“In my opinion they went too hard because you had two Ryanair Chase winners - Frodon and Allaho - and an Arkle winner in Shishkin taking each other on at two-mile pace.

“We had a horse who made the running in a Gold Cup and a Galway Plate and he couldn’t lie up with them but Gavin gave him a lovely ride.

“He did think about pulling him up at one stage but knew, turning in, they were coming back to him and he ended up winning comfortable. We’ll be taking on roughly the same horses in the Gold Cup and if we get proper good ground, who’s to say he won’t do it again.

“He hadn’t run for five or six months before the King George and I think he’ll improve. He’s not a big, gross horse, so he’s easy to keep fit and he has a big heart.

“He never throws in the towel and that’s what won the King George for him. In the Gold Cup last year, coming down the hill, I wouldn’t have swapped him for any horse in the race. He always hits a flat spot and Jordan said he was only getting back on the bridle when he fell at the second last.

“Going to Cheltenham this year, he’s the underdog again but the public fancy him and it’s great for the whole family and gives everyone a lift.”

People’s horse

Hanlon enthused: “It’s a bit like Danoli. Hewick is kind of the people’s horse now - he’s caught people’s eye and it’s going to stay that way. Our lad likes being the underdog and I love being the underdog as well – less pressure!”

Hold on, wasn’t it another Co. Carlow trainer (Jim Bolger) who coined the phrase ‘Pressure is for tyres’ a few years ago, a saying still trotted out at regular intervals? The Shark would respond that the only ‘flat’ he has come across was the ‘bad’ bottle of champagne he tried to open after the trophy presentation in Kempton! He jested: “They were lucky – people would have got ‘drownded’!” Imagine what the scenes will be like if Hewick delivers at Cheltenham!

Hanlon, the son of a cattle dealer, bought Hewick at Goresbridge Sales for just €850 as a two-year-old and he won the first of 10 races in his colours.

T.J. McDonald didn’t buy him until he was four or five but has since had the pleasure of pocketing more than €700,000 in win and place money which is a good return by anyone’s standards!

However, despite the astonishing achievements of Hewick and Hanlon’s other bargain purchase Skyace, snapped up for just £600 before going on to make her mark at Grade 1 level, the trainer has received just a couple of enquiries from prospective owners since Christmas.

He reflected: “We’ve had a few enquiries and a couple of new horses have come into the yard but our door is always open.”

Shark comes across as an easy-going person but he recognises the pressures trainers are currently facing on a daily basis all too well. He said: “It’s gone very tough for the smaller trainers who wouldn’t have the numbers of horses in their yard and it’s getting harder every day.

“They’re basically training handicappers and it costs money to run horses to get them handicapped. The cost of everything has just gone up and up the whole time and there’s very little you can do to stay in business, other than to charge a little bit more to keep your head above water.”

Unwavering support

Hanlon, whose business plan in the past always involved selling on any young horses who showed a glimmer of potential, appreciates McDonald’s unwavering support and said of Hewick: “He’s our little star. He loves having his photo taken but, when you’re a trainer, you can’t be standing still - you’re always looking for the next good one, the next star and you never know when you’re going to spot one.

“Our eldest son Paddy is 16 and he’s known Hewick more than half his life. He won’t get his Irish licence until he’s 17 but he’s been with Charlie Poste in England for a couple of months and rode in a point-to-point on his English licence in the middle of January. My partner Rachel and I drove over to surprise him.

“Our other son Sean turned 14 last month and plays an equally important part, looking after our social media and keeping people up-dated on what’s going on in the yard. He does a good job of it and the owners appreciate it because people buy a horse for a bit of fun and a bit of craic.

Cheltenham

Hewick was stabled next door to Allaho at Kempton and Sean posted an image of him on the website, taken shortly before midnight on Christmas Eve. Two days later, the Shark roared at the crowd: “Take a good look. The next time you’ll see him, he’ll be coming up the hill in Cheltenham’ and they loved it!”

He added: “It was great to be in the ring afterwards with Nicky Henderson and Paul Nicholls shaking my hand and the English people were very good and got behind us. They were 20 deep around the ring. People get dressed up to go racing at Christmas and they like to see the owner and trainer there for the presentation, so we made a big show of it.”

Make no mistake. Shark offers owners value for money in more ways than one and he has the form to prove it.

The champagne corks are guaranteed to be popping and flights home could be missed should bargain buy Hewick come out on top at Cheltenham on the final day. Cheers!