Stephen Hanlon

I'm from the Curragh in Co Kildare. I originally found my way into racing through my father and my uncle. They were very friendly with the late trainer Frank Ennis. Frank had a small number of horses and trained on the Curragh, probably trained about 25 horses. My father got me a job with Frank in 2007 and that's how I started really. Initially, I had aspirations to be a jockey but I grew too tall and got heavy. I realised then that it just wasn't going to be possible, so I changed course very quickly and I had my sights set on training from then on.

I spent a year with Martin Brassil on the Curragh, he was a great man to work for. I found that he was a real 'target' trainer, so he would target a big race and work back from even as far as 18 months away. He's a really shrewd trainer. I worked for Martin for a year and from there I went to work for Willie Mullins. I was based with Willie through the Hurricane Fly, Annie Power and Faugheen era. I was a work rider there and would have looked after and ridden Arctic Fire a lot. He finished second behind Faugheen in the Champion Hurdle (Cheltenham, 2015). He was a very good horse in his own right. I spent two and a-half years with Willie.

From Willie's, I progressed on to work for the late Dessie Hughes and that was a fantastic time. Dessie was a total gentleman really. An excellent horseman and an excellent trainer. I did a travelling role for a year while with Dessie. Every young man or woman who came through the gate were all afforded the same opportunity. It was really down to you then what you made of that opportunity. He was a very fair man and he taught everyone in the yard to be very disciplined. He was very keen on discipline and manners. He taught you how to present yourself and conduct yourself in racing.

I took a lot from my time with Martin, Willie and Dessie. Wherever you go and work, you are always trying to learn something. I think every day in this game is a learning day. Nobody ever has this game cracked, you are continuously learning. It is something I am passionate about. It is about finding out what each horse needs to help them perform to the best of their ability. When you are working for these trainers, you are always picking up on things. No two trainers train the same, but the vast majority of trainers get the results. I often say that training is not a science, it is more of an art - there are around 550 trainers in the UK, that is 550 different ways of training a horse, and the vast majority of those ways are effective. You have got to feel your way with the horses and a lot is on instinct really, I believe. I often saw that with Martin, Willie, Dessie and Ralph Beckett - you go with your initial feel. They were all very hands on and, with each of those trainers, the attention to detail was phenomenal. I was with Dessie for two seasons up until he passed away.

I had my first winner, on the permit, with Diggin Deep in a handicap hurdle at Musselburgh on in November 2018. I think for me that first winner gave me an incredible appetite - once you do it once, you want to do it again. I just want to succeed, not only for myself, but for my horses, owners and staff. I guess it just makes you hungry and driven. The intention was that I would progress into training in a full-time capacity, but then racing stopped due to Covid-19 after I had done my modules and was going to apply for a full licence. That's when I parked it and went to work for Ralph Beckett in the UK. I was based with Ralph for four seasons, mainly work- riding again. I was associated with Group One winners Angel Bleu and Scope, so I rode those two horses every day while they were in training. It was exciting times to be there and it was great to have that responsibility. He has a solid business model and has had phenomenal success. When you are exposed to top-level horses right the way through from Willie Mullins to Ralph Beckett, it becomes an invaluable education because you know you are learning from the very best in the business. Ralph was extremely helpful with advice and guidance. He had known for quite a while that I wanted to train, so I had plenty of conversations with Ralph about what my plans were.

I was starting to pull together a small team of horses and I based them with Harry Whittington, while I was trying to find a yard. Harry knew Ann Duffield and knew that Ann wanted to retire. Harry suggested that I give Ann a call and I discussed with Ann what I would like to do. Ann invited me to Sun Hill Racing Stables to have a look around. It went forward from there really. Ann confirmed that it was her plan to retire at the end of the year (2025). We agreed that I should take on the role as assistant trainer, so I could get an idea of how Sun Hill works and how her system works. I very much enjoyed the role working with good people. When Ann and I had discussed the idea of taking over the licence, I then felt that any other step other than going training at that point would have been a step backwards. Ann has enjoyed a long and successful career in her own right, and is an incredibly astute businesswoman. She and her owners have been very supportive with advice and guidance as we continue to transition over the business into my own name. I'd like to think that has prepared me well for what I am trying to achieve now. I've been with Ann as her assistant for six months from June. It is a fantastic place - it is a purpose-built stableyard with wonderful facilities. I'm very grateful to Ann and George for the opportunity that they have afforded me.

I took over the licence on the 1st January. Any young trainer that starts out, you need to be proactive. You've always got to be looking at growing your business, increasing the quality of your horses, increasing the number of horses. This is a numbers game - you need to have the numbers to make it viable. We are very lucky in Sun Hill to have some fantastic owners that really understand racing. I'm very grateful to have the full backing of all Ann's long-standing owners. Without that, it wouldn't be possible to take over. We will be predominantly focused on growing the business numerically. I think that is the most important factor for long-term sustainable growth. We have 25 horses at the minute, all Flat horses. I'd like to think Master Richard is a horse that we could look forward to this year in those competitive heritage handicaps during the summer. We might look at the Spring Mile on the first day of the Flat season at Doncaster. He's got some form around Doncaster and he could be a horse for the Spring Mile. He would have to improve on his rating, but he has been rated 90 before.

We are open to more horses and have been very active at the Horses In Training Sales in the autumn, and we continued that trend right through to the yearling sales. Hopefully, we can be competitive at the breeze-up sales too. We have tried to bring in new blood. It is very welcoming when you get a call from a new owner that is considering putting one in with you. When you are starting, it is nice to have that recognition. I think when you start off with the right people, the horses will come. I think we will have our first runner in mid-January. We have got a small but select team for the all-weather. Those are horses that have shown some form on the all-weather and they should be able to keep our name in the paper right through until the start of the Flat. We are within a two-hour drive of 12 different racecourses, so we are ideally located (in Leyburn, North Yorkshire). If we ever need to take a horse away for an away day, we can always go to Middleham which is only 10 minutes away or we can go to Newcastle. I'm very pleased with our two-year-olds at the minute. I think for what we speculated at the sales with Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock, and with Freddie Tylicki, we set out with the intention of trying to buy value and two-year-olds that we think we can get on the track early, and demonstrate that we can train a horse from scratch and bring it right through. We have a nice number of two-year-olds to begin with and at this moment in time they are all pleasing us, but they have to step forward and keep improving.

I just love the horses, I love being involved with the horses. I love seeing horses improve and performing to the best of their ability. The experience for the owners is a big thing for me. At the end of the day, it is an entertainment business and we have to provide a level of service for the owners so that they are getting value for money. With the prize money levels in the UK, it is not enough to just turn up at the races and meet the owners. It is about getting them involved in the whole process of the training, discussing plans for horses, plotting races, and coming to see the horses at the yard. I think communication is huge and is something that I will focus on. I would speak to owners and they would say something like 'he/she trained the horse for me and did a really good job with the horse, and really knew their job, but the communication was terrible'. That is something that always stuck in my mind. Communication is one of the most important skills in any business, I think. We are always open for business and our owners are regular visitors. There's no set day, they are welcome to turn up at any time as long as they let us know they are coming. I think owners need to be actively involved with the whole process from start to finish so they feel involved. We have set up a website (www.stephenhanlonracing.com) and I just think it gives people an insight. You can see the facilities we have at our disposal. There's so much attention to detail from Ann and George who designed the property.

Stephen was in conversation with Michael Graham.

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About Michael Graham

Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.

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