John Joseph 'Shark' Hanlon has training licence reinstated

John Joseph 'Shark' Hanlon has had his training licence reinstated by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.

Hanlon was initially given a 10-month ban and fined €2,000 over an incident in which he transported a dead horse in public view.

It was reduced to six months following an appeal, with the possibility of serving just three if he adhered to requirements set out by the IHRB.

The ban began on 1 December last year, despite a request from Hanlon to defer it until April which was refused.

An IHRB hearing was held on 5 February to review if the ban could be suspended to the shorter period as raised in the appeal ruling.

Representatives of Hanlon agreed to not run a horse before 1 March as part of the application and that he would accept any condition imposed upon his licence.

The Referrals Committee permitted lifting the last three and a half months of the suspension on conditions the trainer would not run a horse before this Saturday and that Hanlon does not commit any further breach of the original offence known as Rule 272 between now and 1 June.

They said the suspended ban could come into effect along with any other penalties that might arise if he did so.

Hanlon has said he will not be running horses at Cheltenham, but stable star Hewick is set to be aimed for the Grand National at Aintree in April.