Sporting
a stature that would be more at home on the polished floorboards of a basketball stadium,
Ciaron Maher strides from the jockey’s rooms at Mornington Racecourse to be legged on
board the Peter Hayes trained Knight’s Passage, his mount for the Steeples Sportsbar
Maiden Hurdle over 2950 metres.
At nigh on 6 feet tall, the twenty year old's
skeletal frame dwarfs the impressive Sir Tristram gelding into a diminutive pony, but his
physical size replicates the intensity with which the quietly spoken lad from Warrnambool
tackles each hurdle that life in the saddle throws at him.
Today will bring success for Maher and mark
another milestone in the fledgling career of one of our most determined and extreme
characters.
It will reduce his claiming allowance from
2kgs to one and a half, but raise his confidence no end.
"Looks a neat line...." comes the
description from the experienced vocal chords of Sky Channel’s Brian Blackmore as
Maher camps over the withers awaiting the crash of the opening gates, anticipating the
first obstacle a mere ten strides away. It’s the first time that the apprentice will
circumnavigate the meticulously manicured Mornington turf and there will be no time for
perusing the picturesque track, but merely to balance his inexperienced charge for the
looming hurdle. As Blackmore continues, "And they’re off......Indianapolis
jumped away well and so too did Tidy Tom and Dove Edwin...all over the first
safely......jumping it high on the outside, Knight’s Passage and will settle down
midfield."
By the time he has cautiously negotiated that
hurdle, Maher has dropped the public elect into a perfect spot, but with Knight’s
Passage’s jumping skills showing signs of being greener than the grass he is
traversing, there will only be hard earned dollars here today.
Whilst Knight’s Passage displays a flaw
in the coordination of each take-off and landing, his ability to regain the lost ground
between hurdles keeps him in a lovely position, with plenty of galloping room, relaxing
the horse into a fluent rhythm as they leave the straight with a circuit to go.
At the half way point, Maher has a good view
of the battle royal going on in the distance, with Apollon pressuring Covet Cross for the
lead, whilst his mount conserves every breath for one final, ominous attack.
After experiencing six, poorly executed
flights, Maher set Knight’s Passage up for a faultless display over the seventh,
which saw the duo launch themselves right into contention and by the time they negotiated
the second last the two horses that lay between them and victory were well in their
sights.
On the corner, Covet Cross was extracting
every last ounce of power from his straining, battle weary legs, which had been in
overdrive from barrier rise to command the lead, but were not going to provide sufficient
impetus to stave off the lanky strides of his challenger.
Knight’s Passage and Covet Cross both
came to the last looking for victory, but one facing defeat.
After having spent the entire race running out
at his jumps, Covet Cross again lost his rudder, but was nearly handed the event when
Knight’s Passage threw in a contorted effort which momentarily unbalanced the 6yo,
but refusing to panic, Maher allowed his mount to collect himself before applying the
persuader, negating the last ditch effort of his rival to score by two and a half lengths.
Covet Cross was as game as they come in defeat, with Tijuana Taxi a further two and a half
lengths astern in third placing, the trio finishing well clear of the remaining seven and
signalling that there may be more duels in store over the ensuing weeks for them.
An elated Ciaron Maher will be the first to
claim that Knight’s Passage needs to improve his aerial work if he is to make the
grade in tougher company though. "He’s got a bit to learn in that department,
but I think he’ll come along alright" he declared.
And the same could almost be said for his
rider who possesses a desire to improve and a refreshing passion for the art of jumps
racing that is sure to stand him in good stead for a bright future, providing weight
doesn’t curtail his ambitions.
The scales have been the constant enemy of
Maher since he started riding, forcing him to abandon his career of about 60 rides on the
flat some two years ago - a career that produced one very memorable victory at Penshurst -
and transfer to the excitement sport of jumping - a move that did not phase him one iota.
"I love the jumps and even if my weight
wasn’t an issue, I’d still like to ride over them" said Maher, a statement
that would encourage many in an industry which is often looked upon as the poorer cousin
of flat racing, but one that he is very genuine about. "It’s a very exciting
sport and they (jumps races) are an enormous thrill to ride in" he continued.
A background in showjumping, hunting and
motor-cross have blended to create a respectful, but somewhat fearless approach to his
riding over jumps, however, as Maher has experienced first hand, the reality of the game
is that sometimes the breaks you get aren’t always the lucky ones.
A fall in a steeple school leading up to the
Warrnabool carnival last year left Maher nursing a broken left shoulder over the peak
racing period, but all being well in 2001, he should start to build on his 10 wins to date
and stamp himself as a rider of the future, with a Melbourne city win high on his list of
aspirations.
He has managed to taste the thrill of victory
in city class across the border though, piloting the promising, Tony Selfe trained
Military Orbit to a game win at Cheltenham, a horse that Maher rates as one of the best
horses he has had the pleasure of riding and believed could have gone onto bigger and
better things, but sadly had to be put down after breaking his sesamoids.
After spending 18 months in the glorious
surroundings of Lindsay Park Stud prior to his "unlucky break", Maher is now
stationed at the Flemington base of the empire, where he will happily serve out his time
before embarking on cementing a long term career in the capital of jumps racing.
In the meantime, he is looking forward to the
chance to return to South Australia for the forthcoming Oakbank Carnival, whilst the
immediate future may see the towering hoop display his trade in Tasmania, with trainer
Alan Stubbs keen to secure his services for the meeting on March 4th.
But one thing is certain, whichever track we
have the pleasure of seeing this lad ride at, he will literally be standing head and
shoulders above his rivals. |
