A 26yo Ciaron Maher tasted Group One success and thereafter sought to establish himself as one of the leading owners and trainers in the Southern Hemisphere.
A daughter of leading European 1st season sire Charm Spirit caught Ciaron Maher’s eye at the 2019 Magic Millions Sale on the Gold Coast where she was purchased for $280,000. She was raced in a Ladies Only Syndicate with a view to claiming a slice of the A$500,000 Magic Millions Ladies Bonus, this filly has been sent to the breaker’s as we look to give her every chance of returning for the 2020 edition of the two-year-old race.
As the event comes around once again, we speak to the maestro about his plans for the next event and much more
Q: Last year you purchased many high-quality horses at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, where are they now? Are there any 2YO successes you would like to highlight?
A: We were pretty active at the sales both buying for our own database and also working in with good clients and friends like Aquis, Highclere, First Light Racing, Dynamic and Dream Thoroughbreds. We reckon that we have a really strong team of two-year-olds in the stable for this season and so far from our Magics purchases last year we’ve been lucky enough to have Tanker win the Debutante at Caulfield, Rathlin and Amish Boy run impressively for 2nd and 3rd in the Ballarat Clockwise Classic. Marchena was stakes placed on Cup Day, Circularity was 5th in the Breeders and looks to have nice ability and greenness cost Away Game black-type on debut in the Merson Cooper. So far a strong start but we think there is a bit more to come still.
Q: Last year you purchased many high-quality horses at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, where are they now? Are there any 2YO successes you would like to highlight?
A: As a team, we try to cover as many pre-sales as possible on the farms to chart their development. Again once we’re at the sales we like to see everything again and then narrow down our list to second looks before we really start to chip away at a final list leading into the sale days. The Magics always put together a good catalogue with a lot of nice animals so our list always starts out long enough, which you need as there is a lot of competition.
Q: Obviously the top lots will get many visitors and command a high price. But there are many other really good lots. How does one identify and go after that second-tier cream?
A: You can always pick which ones are going to make their money, everyone’s on them. As far as trying to identify a few bargains I think that understanding the family history always and you do sometimes take a bit of a shine to certain sire lines that might not be that “sexy” but have worked for us. Having knowledge of those breeds helps understand where the physical improvement might come from after they get home from the sales. Outside of that intimate knowledge of a family, I think good actioned horses that have stood up mentally throughout prep and the sales always appeal to me.
Q: What are your plans for the Gold Coast Yearling sales this year? Do you have an idea of how many horses you are likely to buy etc?
A: We’ve been active the past few years and plan to be again, depending on the orders that we receive from clients and how strong the competition is will determine what numbers we end up buying, but we are going into the sales season with an open mind.
Q: Which sales do you usually attend every year?
A: The sales season is a great time of the year, particularly the Magics as it is a great time to catch up from everyone in the industry after the SpringCarnival. I’ll be active at the Gold Coast and hopefully, have to put the shine on a few two-year-olds for the main race, we’ve always had good success buying at Karaka and enjoy the type of animal that the Kiwi’s breed so I’ll also be heading there after the Magics. Melbourne is our home sale and was good to us last year with Ideas Man already winning a nice race for us on Cox Plate Day and we feel that there are a few more young ones from that sale to put their hands up. Classic has a good track record as well so we don’t want to miss an opportunity to buy top-class stock and will be on the lookout there also.
Q: Could you tell us how did you get involved with the horse racing industry?
A: I've always been around animals and horses and grew up on a dairy farm with a load of brothers. We were always outdoors and getting stuck in, the interest in the horses and riding/training just flowed from there and took me around the world before I returned to start training out of Dad’s dairy at Warnambool.
Q: And finally, who is your favourite horse in the world? And why?
A: Hard to split, a couple of my top jumpers in Bashboy and Regina Coeli as well as my first Group 1 winner Tears I Cry. Jameka might be the one though, she will always be hard to top.