Edmond Hannigan

Edmond Hannigan

Article by Alan Trout

Having ridden at least 21 winners in his native Ireland during the Second World War, Edmond Patrick Hannigan moved to England soon after hostilities had ended and made a promising start with 12 victories in his first season. He added another 27 over the next five years and rode in two Grand Nationals. 

His first success was probably at Mallow on Easter Monday, April 6, 1942, when Egmont II won the Tralee Handicap Chase by 20 lengths for trainer Walter Dwyer. 

He began his campaign in England at Cheltenham on November 9, 1945, when Ashwood was ninth of 11 in the Rosehill Three-Year-Old Hurdle. He opened his account at Nottingham on February 9, 1946, when the seven-year-old Little Pip took the lead at the last flight in the Carlow Handicap Hurdle (Division 1) and comfortably beat Sporting Link by six lengths. The winning pair followed up at Southwell six days later. 

Then Edmond had two wins in three days at the end of March on the novice chaser The Flyer, trained by Ronald Bennett. They attempted a hat-trick in the Stanley Chase at Liverpool on April 6 and finished a creditable second, beaten four lengths by Aubrey Brabazon on Luan Casca. Edmond then rode another eight winners in as many weeks before the season ended. 

He was never to do as well again, although he did have a double at Wolverhampton on Boxing Day 1946. Later that season he had his first attempt at the Grand National when Jubilee Flight was one of 57 starters. The 12-year-old did not complete the course, while 100/1 outsider Caughoo romped to an unlikely triumph. Quite where Jubilee Flight exited the race is a matter of conjecture. The Sporting Chronicle’s Racing-up-to-Date form book lists him simply as ‘did mot finish’, whereas another source states that he fell, while Reg Green in his book ‘A Race Apart’ has him as last of 21 finishers. The Racing-up-to-Date form book identifies only 19 finishers. 

Twelve months later, Edmond rode 66/1 chance Clonaboy in the 1948 Grand National but the ten-year-old was among the fallers. He had one more try over the Liverpool fences, but his mount, Barn Dance, was a faller in the Grand Sefton Chase on November 11, 1949. They had fared better earlier in the year when finishing third in the Lancashire Chase, one of the season’s most valuable races, at Manchester on Easter Monday, having disputed the lead to the second last fence.

Edmond’s final victory came on Betty’s Son in the Broughton Handicap Chase at Bangor on April 21, 1951, when he brought the nine-year-old home four lengths clear of Tim Brookshaw on Sideley. Tim went on to land a double that afternoon, but alas, there were no more wins for Edmond, either in England or Ireland.