Relief for Weir staff after “disarray” says new boss Maher

1 year ago

Ciaron Maher has spoken of a sense of relief which has washed over the staff at Darren Weir’s Ballarat training complex.

Maher and training partner David Eustace have taken over at Forest Lodge following the Racing and Appeals Disciplinary (RAD) Board’s decision to disqualify Weir for four years.

As it became evident that owners were pulling their horses from Weir’s care and that a hefty sanction would be incurred by the Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, uncertainty encircling staff reached fever pitch, causing disarray.

But today’s announcement that Maher and Eustace will step in has eased the fears of those who have toiled tirelessly to help this become the country’s premier training facility.

“It was quite a shock for the staff and everyone involved up at Ballarat,” he said on SEN Mornings.

“The relief and that bit of confidence around the stable has definitely lifted morale.

“They are quite a tight, hardworking group who all thrive off the success. They were all shocked and thrown into disarray but we had a meeting yesterday and threw a few timelines and a bit of certainty behind it.

“We’ll work through how many horses we have and how many staff we can hold onto. We are really looking forward to the challenge.”

“It’s not ideal for racing as a whole but racing is very resilient and a lot of passionate people - be it owners, directors, race clubs, trainers - and that passion will shine through, I’ve no doubt.”

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Having taken care of a number of Weir’s horses already, Maher made it clear that the remaining gallopers at the Ballarat complex will not necessarily become his responsibility, depending on the wishes of the owners.

“There’s about 30 at this stage (that we have) and we will work through existing horses and owners’ preferences,” he added.

“It’s a great opportunity.

“Obviously it’s a premier stable and training facility, (we are) rapt to be able to secure it.

“It’s quite disappointing for Darren and his team, he’s put his heart and soul into this place and you can really see that. It’s a great place and there’s really good staff and it seems to work really well.”

The Maher/Eustace team already operate a traditional training stable at Caulfield, beach training facilities at Balnarring and a dressage/arena space in Pakenham, as well as recently taking over 30 boxes at Warwick Farm in Sydney.

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