Richard Hannon has the heart of a champion
Having finally got around to the small matter of a heart bypass operation, Richard Hannon was able to reflect on winning his second trainers’ championship 18 years after his first in 1992.
Hannon, who delayed surgery because he was "too busy at the yearling sales" said on his website: “It seems a long time since we were champion trainer.
“I remember it was the year of Lyric Fantasy, who swept the board, and again this season we owe a big debt to the two-year-olds.
“Zebedee was one of our first juvenile winners at Windsor in April, and he proved a little superstar for Julie Wood, who also had Strong Suit, while Memory was top of the pile amongst the fillies and did her bit towards what was a magnificent year for Highclere.
“However, I must admit that when d**k Turpin and Canford Cliffs chased home Makfi in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on that first Saturday in May, I thought it might be another of those 'nearly' years.”
A fortnight later it was all smiles when Paco Boy won the Lockinge Stakes; well, nearly. Hannon normally gives the impression of a man for whom the glass is half-full but the emotions came to the surface after that victory as he broke down in tears over a horse who had come to be a personal friend. “Thankfully, Paco Boy gave us our first Group One of the year, in the Lockinge at Newbury, which was pretty emotional,” he said, “and Canford Cliffs rattled off three himself; the Irish 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes and the Sussex.
"I was so pleased for John Manley when d**k Turpin finally got his just reward when he won the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly, but we were lucky that the horses were healthy right the way through the season and my only regret is that Richard Hughes could not quite make it in his bid to be champion jockey. He gave it his all, and but for that six-day suspension at the back-end, well, we'll never know.
"We enjoyed a fabulous Royal Ascot and also cleaned up with the two-year-olds at Newmarket's July meeting, but I suppose Glorious Goodwood has to be the highlight - nine winners was simply unbelievable and everything we ran seemed to win.”
Like many other trainers in the age when the horsepower runs in the hundreds, Hannon is keen to acknowledge the team element that makes the success possible. "I cannot stress too strongly how much I owe the team - my name might be on the licence, but Richard Jnr has come of age and he travelled everywhere, while Tony Gorman, who supervises things at Herridge, and Steve Knight, who does likewise up at Everleigh, along with Maxine Ledger, who runs the fillies yard, have kept the show going, while I don't know what I would do without my secretary, Vicky Carver, who is so efficient and knows where everything is in the office. All the lads and lasses work very hard, and, of course, my vet, Mike O'Gorman, and his team are also an important part of the success-story.
"Now, we can ease off the throttle for a few months - Richard Jnr can finally have his honeymoon, and we will have our annual holiday to Barbados after Christmas before we start up all over again. Winning the trainers champion is one thing - retaining it will be that much harder."
Hannon confessed that "mornings won't be the same without Paco Boy next year."
Paco Boy ended his racing career with a battling fourth to Goldikova in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Churchill Downs on Saturday night and has retired for a new career as a stallion at the Highclere Stud. “Paco Boy was not only one of my favourite horses but certainly one of the best that we have had on the place,” Hannon said. “And if he can produce yearlings who look as good as himself then I will be buying as many as I can get my hands on.
"He got a mile well, but he had speed to burn and it was his terrific turn of foot in that final furlong that differentiated him from an ordinary horse. What's more, you could not ask for a nicer individual. He would do anything for you, and he was the most genuine horse in the world - I suppose that is why I got so emotional when he won the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last year as he has always meant so much to me.
"Paco Boy's 11 victories included three Group One's, and he would have won a lot more had it not been for a certain Goldikova, but he never took a lame step all the time he was here and his soundness and undoubted ability should ensure that he is much in demand as a stallion.
"I am certainly looking forward to having a few of Paco's first crop, and if he can pass on some of his attributes to his progeny then he ought to prove very popular at stud."
If he does not it would be a crying shame.
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