Principal Trainer: Adrian Maguire
Notable Wins:
- Munster National (Golden Kite 2010)
- Pricewaterhousecoopers Chase (Let Yourself Go 2009)
- Edmond Whelan Memorial Handicap Hurdle (Bullhill Flyer 2009)
- Tim Duggan Memorial Handicap Chase (Time To Sell 2007)
Early Days
Originally from Killenaule in Co. Tipperary, Hassett was initially associated with Tommy Stack stable and had his first ride in public on Kinderland at Limerick on March 28th 2004. He didn’t have to wait long for his first success, as three weeks later he made his third outing on the racecourse a winning one, riding the Stack-trained Hollow Quail to an easy success in an 8f maiden at Listowel. After that win, Stack was quoted as saying that the 16-year-old Hassett “could be the next Tony McCoy”. That was high praise indeed from a Grand National-winning jockey and Classic-winning trainer. Despite the fast start, that would to be his only success of the year and with his weight rising all the time, that would prove to be the only year in which he was active on the Flat circuit.
Jumping Beckons
After the Flat season concluded, Hassett left the Stack yard to join the National Hunt orientated yard of Michael Hourigan. He soon began acquiring further experience in bumpers and over hurdles and while he didn’t ride a winner over obstacles until he left Hourigan’s yard over 18 months later, it was a valuable stage in his racing education.
Hassett’s break through over obstacles came courtesy of the Sabrina Harty-trained Bullhill Flyer, with him steering the son of Flemensfirth to three wins in four starts between August and December 2006. Hassett gained just one more win that season, riding the Paul Roche-trained Tobar Isaun to a wide-margin success in a handicap chase at Fairyhouse in January 2007. While it was slightly disappointing that he didn’t further add to his tally, all the hard work would finally begin to pay off for Hassett in the 2007/8 season.
A Break-Out Season
The amount of rides Hassett was getting went through the roof from the very beginning of the 2007/8 season and that was soon translated in winners. It proved to be a remarkably consistent season for Hassett, with him riding a winner every month up until a quiet January broke that sequence. That was more than made up for by his strong finish to the term, riding a total of six winners in the closing months of the season. In terms of big-race wins, his victory on the Eugene O’Sullivan-trained Time To Sell in the Tim Duggan Memorial Handicap Chase at the Christmas Festival at Limerick stands out as being the highlight. At the conclusion of the season, his 16 winners were enough to see him finish third in the race for the title of Champion Conditional behind Shane Jackson and Sean Flanagan.
A Bump On The Road
However, as is so often the case in sports, Hassett endured a bad case of “second-season syndrome” in 2008/9. The campaign started off very well for him, with him riding seven winners up until October, but his run of success was brought to a grinding halt after he suffered an injury when taking a fall at Southwell in early October that kept him out of action until Christmas. Just a few rides into his return, Hassett almost enjoyed the biggest win of his career in the Grade 1 Leopardstown Golf Centre December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown on the Sabrina Harty-trained Won In The Dark, but the pair were just denied by Sublimity. After that, Hassett did not get nearly as many rides as might have been expected and remarkably, he did not ride a winner for the remainder of the season. However, the quiet patch only served to harden his resolve to get back in form for the 2009/10 season and he duly did so in great style.
Back To Top Form
Having had such a frustrating second half of the season in 2008/9, Hassett was unsurprisingly anxious to burst out of the blocks in the new campaign and he duly did that, with his blossoming partnership with Adrian Maguire proving especially successful. By the end of August, Hassett had already clocked up eight winners and in the weeks that followed, he gained a number of valuable successes, most notably on his old friend Bullhill Flyer in the Edmond Whelan Memorial Handicap Hurdle at the Listowel Harvest Festival and on the Adrian Maguire-trained Let Yourself Go in the Grade 3 Pricewaterhousecoopers Chase at Limerick. The latter win was one of four successes he enjoyed on that exciting novice chaser that term and a number of other Maguire-trained horses provided him with multiple wins, namely Golden Kite (3 wins), Monty Blue (2 wins) and Whats Up Gorden (2 wins). Indeed, Maguire provided Hassett with all bar two of his 18 winners during the course of the season, which proved vital in Hassett being crowned Champion Conditional.
National Glory
While Hassett has not been able to set the same pace in 2010/11 as he did the previous season, he was more than compensated for the relative lack of winners by gaining the biggest win of his career on the Maguire-trained Golden Kite in the Munster National at Limerick in October. Hassett had to summon all his strength and determination to get his mount home by a short-head and it was a ride that generated much praise for him.
Still an improving young rider, Shane Hassett still has a few winners to go before losing his 3 lb claim and he rates as one of the most promising conditionals in the Irish weighing room.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
