Hewick 'in great order' ahead of American Grand National Carlow trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon raid on American Grand National at Far Hills, New Jersey is on course as he reports Hewick to be in good form for Saturday's race. Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield added “Shark’s attempt to capture the American National is a big story this side of the Pond and I’m pleased to say that his charge is odds-on to achieve the dream. The Shark is one of the biggest characters in National Hunt racing at home and it’s safe to say that the American media will lap him up if Hewick does the business.” Speaking to @pphorseracing from his Stateside headquarters, Hanlon reported “we’ve had the American Grand National in our minds for a long time and I’ve always loved this race and thought I’d love to have a runner in it,” said Hanlon. “Hewick wants good ground so he was finished in Ireland and it was finish off for the season or come here so it was an easy decision to make. “Gordon Elliott has a couple of runners in other races and the horses have come together and he’s been a big help. It took the horses a couple of days from home in Ireland to England to Germany and they flew from there.” The majority of Paddy Power’s ante post bets in the race have been on 4-6 favourite Hewick, although Belfast Banter, who was previously trained on the Emerald Isle by Peter Fahey and won last year’s County Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival is the firm’s biggest loser ante post despite disappointing in all three of his starts since going to the US. Hanlon added “Hewick’s in great order. He landed here on Monday and I’ve only come down yesterday from New York where I was for a few days. The horse is in right form, serious form and I landed here last night. “He will school this morning under my young lad Paddy and if he takes to the hurdles over here — they’re neither really fences or hurdles, they’re in between, he’ll have a great chance. We’ve done our best schooling him over that kind of obstacle back at home and he schooled here yesterday under a different lad and they said he was brilliant.” Hewick is arguably unlucky to come into this prestigious race without another win under his belt as he made a mistake at the last fence in the Kerry National at Listowel last month under this weekend’s big-race rider Jordan Gainford, who secured his first Cheltenham Festival win on The Shunter in last year’s Paddy Power Plate. Hanlon continued: “He would have won the Kerry National without a doubt if he’d stood up. He was only coming to join the other horse and he would have landed in front and gone away. That would have been a great performance to give Joseph’s [Joseph O’Brien] horse 21lb. “Jordan is very excited — it’s a big opportunity for a young chap who is only 21 and also for me and the whole team.” Hewick is currently a 4/6 shot to win Saturday's race.
