Horses on parade as Sandown honours John Hales

The memory of John Hales was honoured at Sandown on Saturday when he was posthumously awarded the Sandown Park Special Award for 2025.

Hales died in January at the age of 85 but his influence in racing has been felt consistently over the past decades with his famous yellow silks sported by some of the most popular National Hunt horses.

In recent years Hales joined forces with the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Ged Mason, and both were on hand to present the special award to Hales’ widow Pat and daughter Lisa at the annual presentations which preceded the action on the final day of the season.

Former Manchester United manager Ferguson paid tribute to his friend and his love of grey horses and said: “He was a fantastic man with a great eye for a horse. He loved his grey horses and I don’t know why he did, but he had an obsession with grey horses and some of them were fantastic.

“He was a great mind and a kind man and we’ll miss him. His passions were his horses and Aston Villa and he was a winner. He loved the sport no matter how they performed but he liked to win.”

Mason added: “It was a great tribute by Sandown to give us the opportunity to remember what a great man John Hales was and not just to his friends and family, but also to racing and the wider racing community.

“His achievements are second to none and it’s easier to say what races he hasn’t won rather than the ones he has one. Hopefully we can continue his legacy into the future with Sir Alex and with Pat and Lisa’s enthusiasm alongside us, I’m sure we will.”

The great One Man is perhaps one of Hales’ most famous horses, while he also won the Grand National with Neptune Collonges.

The Aintree hero – who famously struck in the narrowest of fashions in the hands of Daryl Jacob in 2012 – was amongst six of Hales’ horses to be paraded before racing, with others taking a lap of the parade ring including Champion Chase hero Politologue and last year’s Ryanair Chase winner Protektorat.

Lisa Hales added: “Dad loved jump racing and he loved Sandown Park, so it is very touching that he will be remembered with the Sandown Park Special Award.

“From the days of the great One Man right up to L’Eau Du Sud’s success in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at the end of last year, there were many great occasions for us at Sandown Park over years and it is a huge for the Hales family that dad is honoured in this way.”

In recent years, Hales – along with his co-owners – has been central to the continued success of Paul Nicholls’ Ditcheat operation, with the 14-time champion trainer hoping this year’s stars Caldwell Potter and Kalif Du Berlais continue to fly the flag for Hales’ memory.

“What an enthusiast John was. To involve his family and his pals in those horses, they’ve had so much fun,” said Nicholls.

“It’s an exciting time with Caldwell Potter and Kalif Du Berlais, with plenty of younger ones at home. Olly Murphy has a few nice ones for them as well as Dan (Skelton), so we’re all looking forward to next season.”