John Joseph Hanlon

Those big-day successes tell the most compelling part of his story. Sandown in April 2022, Sandown again in April 2023, then Kempton on Boxing Day 2023 — three top-level wins across three different seasons, which suggests this is not a fluke but a recurring ability to produce a horse on the right day at the right track. Plenty of trainers go entire careers without a single Class 1 winner. Hanlon has three in four years.

His most trusted ally in the saddle is jockey Paddy Hanlon, almost certainly a family connection, who has ridden 160 times for the yard and delivered 8 winners — roughly 1 in every 20 rides, a win rate of 5%. That might sound modest, but in a sport where even the best partnerships rarely win more than 1 in 10, it represents a solid and consistent working relationship built on volume and trust. His standout horse has been A Mere Bagatelle, who has won 4 of their 40 races together — again, 1 in 10, and the kind of long-running partnership that suggests genuine affection and understanding between trainer and horse.

One pattern worth noting is how much better things go when conditions are normal underfoot. On standard ground, Hanlon's runners have won 7 from 142 races, a win rate of around 5% — noticeably stronger than his overall figures. That kind of ground preference is useful knowledge, and it points to a yard whose horses are trained to perform when conditions suit rather than being thrown at everything regardless.

The one honest caveat is that his overall numbers have dipped slightly this season — from 4% last year to 3% now, with 11 winners from 355 runners, roughly 1 in every 32. In a yard operating at this volume, one or two more winners would close that gap quickly. The bones of what Hanlon is building look solid. The big-race wins prove the ceiling is real.