Hewick heads home to Kildare as he rides into retirement

Hewick, one of the most popular National Hunt horses of recent years, is set to ride off into retirement in Naas, Co Kildare, with owner TJ McDonald after friends, family and racing followers gathered at John ‘Shark’ Hanlon’s Bagenalstown yard last Saturday to celebrate the end of his fairytale career.

Hewick’s story is well told by now. He’s the horse that was bought for €800 and went on to accumulate winnings of over €800,000.

He took his owner and trainer and their friends and family around the world. He won a Galway Plate and an American Grand National and perhaps most famously of all, a King George at Kempton. As well as the wins, he came second in a French Hurdle and ran in both the Aintree Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Simply put, he was the horse of a lifetime. Small in stature but full of fight, he won the hearts of racing fans, as was proven again by the crowd that turned out to say farewell before he headed out to pasture.

His owner McDonald comes from a very famous GAA family in Naas. His father Terry captained the SFC winning team of Naas in 1990 and his uncle is famed former Kildare forward Johnny McDonald.

As McDonald admits, he grew up in a GAA mad household and much of his youth was spent travelling around to watch Naas and Kildare matches.

A farmer by trade, in recent years he has branched into equine matters and he admits that finding a horse like Hewick for the money that was paid for him was like finding a winning lottery ticket.

“I must be one of the luckiest owners in horse racing to have a horse like this, to bring me all around the world, the big famous wins that he had, to be such a popular horse with everybody in the country. He has people in England and even America following him, there’s something about him that people like so much,” said McDonald.

The owner spent most of Saturday morning in the stable by Hewick’s side as fans queued around the yard as they waited to have their picture taken with him. McDonald feels that it is the underdog story that so attracts people to him.

“It’s very special. I think it’s the underdog story maybe and the fact that maybe he’s a little bit smaller than the rest of the big guns. He comes out of maybe not the biggest yard and I’m definitely not the biggest owner. Going up against the big guns and stuff like that, that’s bit of the underdog story I think. I don’t really know but there’s a huge love for him anyway, that’s for sure.

“He has the temperament. He’s here taking photos all morning. I just pulled him out of the field this morning at 9am and loaded him up. Usually you wouldn’t be able to stand in the box with some of them but he just knows what he’s doing. He’s just a dude,” said McDonald.

Beside his stable in Carlow, a video played some of his best moments, memories that still make the hair on the back of McDonald’s neck stand up.

“I’m listening to the commentary from the King George here beside me, it still gives me the shivers. It took me about three months to actually sit down and watch it. Galway was special, Sandown was brilliant as well, but I think in Sandown we kind of knew that he was super special because I’d say it was one of his best runs he ever had, he was quick going past the line. He jumped like a buck all the way around and we were thinking then, ‘this lad is serious stuff’. But if I could pick one, it’d have to be the King George, even listening to the commentary there, it gives you the shiver,” he said.

Hewick will enjoy his retirement back in Naas alongside another of McDonald’s bargain Grade 1 winners, Skyace.

“He’ll be out in the field with Skyace, who is actually in foal at the minute. They know each other well from being here with Shark and being on breaks and stuff like that. He’s just there, loving life and out on the grass.”

There may be another Hewick coming along behind as he has a four-year-old brother getting ready to start his career.

“He’s actually for sale but if we can’t sell him, we’ll race him,” said McDonald.

“Raring is Tearing is his name, it comes from the Killeagh song. He’s a four-year-old, still a big baby, so we’ll find out what’s under the tank but if he’s half as good as this lad (Hewick) I’d be happy.”