Dunmanway jockey Gavin Sheehan is the man of the moment after three huge wins in December
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GAVIN Sheehan had the month of his life in December.
Having rode his 700th winner in November, the success continued for the Dunmanway man as he won three Grade One races in December with the highlight being his triumph in the King George at Kempton.
‘That’s my best month ever, without a doubt,’ Sheehan said.
‘I suppose I was very lucky as well. Having the meeting called off in Newcastle to win the Coral Gold Cup, coming back to win the December Gold Cup on the line, and then getting the call from ‘Shark’ for the ride with Hewick, that could have easily gone to someone else.
‘I’m absolutely delighted with the month I had.’
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Coral Gold Cup – Datsalrightgino – Newbury
Sometimes you need luck in sport. Sometimes you just need things to fall your way. Sheehan’s first major success of December came in Newbury, winning the Coral Gold Cup on the third day of the month, but the interesting thing was he could have potentially been riding five hours up the A1 in Newcastle.
‘I was originally booked in for two rides in Newcastle. One happened to be You Wear It Well, who I won with the Mares Novices Hurdle with in Cheltenham but with the poor weather there that didn’t go ahead, thankfully. I don’t know where I would have gone if that meeting went ahead,’ Sheehan explained.
With Newcastle called off, all sights were set on Newbury for the Coral Gold Cup.
‘I had Datsalrightgino then in Newbury, and the ground was coming right for him. With the step up in trip too it was all set up for him. I knew he had a big chance but still, you’re going into it there hoping more so than knowing,’ he said.
Having crossed the finish line claiming victory, the question posed to Sheehan was what would he have done or thought had he seen Datsalrightgino triumph under a different jockey as he sat in the weighing room in Newcastle?
‘I don’t know! I would have cried anyway! I wouldn’t have been a very happy camper, let’s put it that way,’ Sheehan said.
‘At the end of the day, Jamie (Snowden) would let me make the decision but if I was in Newcastle and then saw him crossing over the finish-line, I would’ve done a lot of crying later, I’ll tell you that. I’m lucky that I didn’t have to make the call, it was made for me and thankfully it worked out.
Red-hot Gavin Sheehan celebrates winning the Coral Gold Cup on Datsalrightgino.
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December Gold Cup – Fugitif – Cheltenham
Sheehan’s next major triumph came at the fabled Cheltenham course where he rode Fugitif to victory in the December Gold Cup. Sheehan describes how it doesn’t matter when you ride a winner in Cheltenham as it really is the mecca of horse racing.
‘It doesn’t matter when you win around Cheltenham, it’s just very special. It’s a remarkable place. After riding a winner there you’re absolutely buzzing. It just gives you that feeling that you want to come back here and win again in March,’ Sheehan explained.
It was an incredibly well-timed ride, Fugitif nosed out El Fabiolo after coming from the pack up the Cheltenham hill.
‘They were going at a very fast gallop,’ Sheehan said, ‘He wasn’t too keen at the start, to be honest. So going down the back I was just hoping I’d stay on because I knew El Fabiolo in front was getting tired and thankfully that’s what happened and I got him on the line.'
It was almost a full circle moment for Sheehan having won with both Datsalrightgino and Fugitif in December, the Dunmanway jockey had to choose between the two in the 2023 Cheltenham festival.
‘Funnily enough, at the festival last March, I actually ended up riding Datsalrightgino over Fugitif in the handicap chase on the Thursday. Fugatif ended up finishing second. Datsalrightgino ended up running a poor race. I had to pull him up. It’s kind of funny enough how it’s worked out there for me,’ he remarked.
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King George VI – Hewick – Kempton
After an incredible start to the month, you couldn’t think things could get any better for Sheehan, but they were about to.
He was drafted in to ride Hewick in the King George at Kempton on December 26th. Hewick was a 12/1 outsider in a race that was packed with class with the likes of Shishkin, Bravemansgame and Allaho all in the field for a race that had a total prize pot of £1.2 million.
Hewick, incredibly, came from the back down the home straight to cross the line two lengths ahead, handing Sheehan a momentous victory. Even though he wasn’t favoured by the bookmakers, the Dunmanway native was quietly confident in his chances.
'I had spoken to ‘Shark’ (John Hanlon) and he was telling me how well he was working at home, so I did think that I had a good chance going in,’ he said.
‘In racing you always think you have a chance anyway but it was one of those where I knew that horse was capable of winning because of the way he went around in the Gold Cup last year. It was a fairly open race considering there were a few question marks over a few of the bigger names.’
Sheehan describes a race where Hewick, the horse famously bought for £800, never looked like winning. To put into context how good a comeback it was, at one stage his in-play odds of claiming victory were 500/1.
‘The pace was quick from the start, there was no real let up. My lad wouldn’t be the slowest horse in the world and I still couldn’t even go to gallop,’ he said.
‘Even going past the winning line with a lap to go I was saying to myself, I might have to pull this fella up if he falls any further back but the thing was that I kept the same distance going down the back, so I was kind of thinking, I’m booked for fourth here,’ he explained.
‘Then Shishkin fell at the second last and it wasn’t until after I jumped the second last myself I looked at Allaho and Bravemansgame starting to fall back, and I started to stay on. That’s when I thought, I’ve got a chance here.'
In the derby in 2011, jockey Mickael Barzelona had an iconic celebration, standing up before crossing the finish line after coming up late to take victory. Sheehan decided to take a leaf out of his book when he came home in Kempton.
‘I had a look before the winning line, I knew I had it in the bag and I thought to myself I’m going to enjoy the celebration here and I’ll enjoy this moment. Like him, I stood up on the saddle going over the line. It was some feeling,’ Sheehan described.
So where does the King George triumph land on the list of the 700-plus winners he’s ridden in his career?
‘I would say it’s the biggest win. Obviously, you can’t take away from my Cheltenham winner with Cole Harden but I do think it’s my biggest win. Just because it’s such a prestigious race and the biggest one over Christmas,’ Sheehan said.
Having claimed one of the biggest prizes in national hunt racing, when can we expect to see Hewick next?
‘I think the Gold Cup is the plan for Hewick now. He ran a great race there last year and I think he’s improved again this year so I’d say he’ll go straight to the Gold Cup in Cheltenham,’ said Sheehan, who is a man in the headlines after his success-laden month.
‘The way I went from never being in the race to winning it well, was just perfect. Since then my phone has been absolutely hopping. Even now at the races, there’s still people coming up congratulating me.’
