Trainer Ciaron Maher will saddle up seven horses in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup, the strongest hand he says he has ever had. The 45-year-old won the race with Gold Trip in 2022, and his runners include favourite Point of Law, who catapulted into favouritism after a brilliant win in the Geelong Cup.
Maher's stable has grown to become the country's largest, with about 900 horses across six locations in Victoria and New South Wales. His path to the top began as a jumps jockey, a speciality involving working with horses rather than just jumping on their backs. Maher said the experience was phenomenal for him.
He rode 26 winners from 210 rides and finished third in the Brierly Steeplechase before turning to training in late 2005. By 2007 he had his first breakthrough when outsider Tears I Cry won a group 1 mile at Flemington. In 2016 he won the Caulfield Cup with Jameka, and in 2022 he won the Melbourne Cup with Gold Trip.
Shayne Fisher recalled the young Maher as “very keen and wanted to have a go at everything”, learning horsemanship from the basics at Fisher's property. “They got to learn the basics with every horse, not just horseracing,” Fisher said.
Fellow trainer Peter Moody, who worked alongside Maher at Caulfield, called his seven Melbourne Cup starters “a phenomenal performance” and praised him as “an exceptional horseman and very innovative.” Moody said Maher was probably quieter and more withdrawn at Caulfield than he is these days.
Maher discussed the importance of timing and the one-percenters. “Anyone can have a horse conditioned, but you gotta have a peak so the run-in [to the race] is so important,” he said. He also rates seven-year-old Middle Earth, who finished third in last year's Cup, as a huge chance alongside Point of Law.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The Melbourne Cup is Australia's most famous race, and Maher's seven runners represent one of the strongest hands any trainer has brought to the event.
- Maher's journey from jumps jockey to leading trainer exemplifies how hands-on experience and a willingness to learn can reshape the sport.
- His investment in science, data, and horse wellbeing reflects a modern approach that is becoming the new standard in racing.
Background
Ciaron Maher started in racing as a jumps jockey, riding 26 winners before his size pushed him into training. He learned horse handling from the ground up at Shayne Fisher's property near Warrnambool. After a suspension in 2017 for failing to ask enough questions about horse ownership, he used the time to travel and learn, and has since won the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate, and 2022 Melbourne Cup. He operates out of six training centres and has become Victoria's leading trainer.
What to Watch
- Whether Point of Law can deliver Maher his second Melbourne Cup victory as the favourite.
- How Maher's seven-horse team runs overall, and which of his less fancied horses might spring a surprise.
- Whether Maher can maintain his dominant form in future major races, the Cox Plate and Caulfield Cup.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedMaher will have seven runners in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup.WA Today - Latest News: “It is also the most recent horse he rode around the two miles at Flemington, where he will race seven horses on Tuesday in the Melbourne Cup.”
- SupportedMaher won the Melbourne Cup with Gold Trip in 2022.WA Today - Latest News: “Ciaron Maher and then co-trainer David Eustace won the Melbourne Cup in 2022 with Gold Trip.”
- SupportedMaher is a former jumps jockey who got into bull riding.WA Today - Latest News: “They were wild buggers, got into bull riding and all sorts of things.”
- SupportedMaher’s stable is the country’s largest, with about 900 horses across six locations.WA Today - Latest News: “His business has about 900 horses and operates out of six locations – three in Victoria and three in NSW.”
- SupportedMaher is 45 years old.WA Today - Latest News: “At 45, Maher has a Melbourne Cup, Cox Plate, a couple of Caulfield Cups and a couple of Everests on the mantelpiece, but he wants more.”
- SupportedMaher said he thinks this is the strongest hand he has had.WA Today - Latest News: ““I think this is the strongest hand I have had.””
- SupportedPoint of Law became the Melbourne Cup favourite after winning the Geelong Cup.WA Today - Latest News: “Ciaron Maher’s Point of Law catapulted into favouritism for the Melbourne Cup after a brilliant win in the Geelong Cup.”
- SupportedFisher recalled Maher as “very keen and wanted to have a go at everything”.WA Today - Latest News: ““He was very keen and wanted to have a go at everything. They were wild buggers, got into bull riding and all sorts of things.””
- SupportedFisher said, “They got to learn the basics with every horse, not just horseracing”.WA Today - Latest News: ““They got to learn the basics with every horse, not just horseracing. We taught them the basics of horse handling,” Fisher said.”
- SupportedMoody described Maher’s seven Melbourne Cup starters as “a phenomenal performance”.WA Today - Latest News: “He is also rapt for him, having watched him emerge from those inauspicious beginnings to having seven starters in the Melbourne Cup, with the favourite Point Of Law considered the best of his chances. “It’s a phenomenal performance.”
- SupportedMoody called Maher “an exceptional horseman and very innovative”.WA Today - Latest News: “He is obviously an exceptional horseman and very innovative,” Moody said.”
- SupportedMiddle Earth finished third in last year’s Cup, and Maher considers him a huge chance alongside Point of Law.WA Today - Latest News: “Middle Earth finished third in last year’s Cup and Maher - despite his lead in form - thinks he is a huge chance again, always mentioning seasoned seven-year-old in the same breath as Point of Law”