Born on the 8th September 1980 and
hailing from Cheshire, Paul Hanagan is a ex champion jockey of great
acclaim in the flat racing world.
Having never been in the saddle until
the late age of 14 and having had his eyes firmly fixed on a career
on the green grass of a football field rather than a racetrack, Paul
Hanagan was a graduate of the British Racing School after great
encouragement from his father, Geoff Hanagan. Deemed ‘too small’
for professional football, he helped out as a weekend work experience
stable hand for trainer Terry Caldwell, based in Warrington, which
ultimately led to the pivotal moment when Hanagan realised that
racing had gotten under his skin and into his blood.
Captivated by what he saw at Caldwell’s
yard, Hanagan would get his first taste of being a jockey, being
allowed to ride out at the age of 14 and begin training the British
Racing School, graduating in 1997.
Breakthrough
Hanagan got his first taste of senior
racing on Stone Beck 4 days shy of his 18th birthday , racing to a
creditable 4th place under the stewardship of Malcolm Jefferson, who
was better known for his work in National Hunt training. Jefferson
knew his onions and he saw a promising flat jockey in Hanagan,
guiding the young man to join Richard Fahey as an apprentice flat
jockey just a year later.
Over the next four years, the apprentice jockey saw his promise turn into results, improving each season and gaining the title of Champion Apprentice in 2002. He did this by riding a highly impressive 87 winners, the 2nd most since the end of WWII, which included a win on Vintage Premium in the John Smith’s Cup.
Over the next four years, the apprentice jockey saw his promise turn into results, improving each season and gaining the title of Champion Apprentice in 2002. He did this by riding a highly impressive 87 winners, the 2nd most since the end of WWII, which included a win on Vintage Premium in the John Smith’s Cup.
Richard Fahey foretold a big future for
Paul Hanagan and he wasn’t wrong. Having matured over the next few
years, he won his first senior Champion Jockey title in 2010 with a
brilliant 191 winners and then backing that up by winning it again in
2011, beating Silvestre De Sousa from Brazil on the very last day of
the season.
After this great achievement, Hanagan took a brief sabbatical and stated that he need a break after all his efforts. He did return the next year, but he never again hit the heights of the 2010 and 2011 seasons. To this day, he attributes much of his success to Richard Fahey who he spent 14 years with and he will forever be included in the pantheon of great flat jockeys.
After this great achievement, Hanagan took a brief sabbatical and stated that he need a break after all his efforts. He did return the next year, but he never again hit the heights of the 2010 and 2011 seasons. To this day, he attributes much of his success to Richard Fahey who he spent 14 years with and he will forever be included in the pantheon of great flat jockeys.
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