Ciaron Maher (VIC)
Apprentice to CS Hayes then a successful jumps jockey, including captaining the Australia team against Ireland in the International Jockey Challenge, Ciaron realised his size would deny his riding ambitions. Despite that, his love for racing and his natural interest and curiosity in training saw him commit to a career as a trainer at a young age. Knowing you learn best from the best, he spent time with Bart Cummings, Aiden O’Brien and Willie Mullins before starting in his own right, with 6 boxes on his dad’s farm. He knows you never stop learning and continues to connect with the greats, only last year spending time with Wesley Ward (USA), Roger Charlton (UK) and Richard Hannon (UK), Andre Fabre (France) and Joseph O’Brien (IRE).
Ciaron has also deservedly gained a reputation as a shrewd purchaser of horses:
Petits Filous (purchased for $65,000 and sold for $1.15 million) – Group 3 winner Global Exchange (purchased for $130,000 and sold for $1.4 million) – Group 2 winner Jameka (purchased for $130,000 and sold for $2.6 million) – three-time Group 1 winner including the Caulfield Cup and $4.87 million in prizemoney.
Merchant Navy (purchased for $350,000 and sold for $27 million) – dual Group 1 winner including the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in England and $2 million in prizemoney.
Coolangatta (purchased for $280,000) – winner of the 2022 Gold Coast Magic Millions.
Ciaron is now very happy to be based in what he describes as the best training facility he’s seen anywhere in the world at Ballarat, with operations also in Cranbourne and Sydney.
Cairon Maher joined the ATB training team for the 2018/19 season. At just 37 years of age, Ciaron has established himself as a rare talent in Australian racing. Ciaron tasted Group 1 glory at just 26 years old and has consistently built upon that success to now having the best winners-to-runners strike rate in Victoria. Ciaron’s rare gift for preparing his horses to peak at the right time is born from his attention to detail and individual approach to each horse.
