Racing Victoria about-face allows Maher to keep partnership wins

Champion trainer Ciaron Maher will be allowed to have wins accumulated after the departure of David Eustace added to the victories he shared with his former co-trainer.

In a Racing Victoria (RV) backflip, it will be business as usual for Maher as he chases state and city trainers’ premierships.

The decision comes a week after RV announced that any wins Maher had since Eustace left on January 27 would not count towards his overall tally in 2023/24.

However, following a review that included submissions from Ciaron Maher Racing and consultation with industry stakeholders including the Australian Trainers’ Association, RV backed out of its original decision.

“Through the review, reasonable views were expressed both in support of the original rule and a revised approach,” RV chief executive Andrew Jones said.

“Ultimately RV accepted the argument that the better decision was to add the wins given the substantial continuity of the Ciaron Maher Racing stable and the fact Mr Eustace will be competing in his own name in Hong Kong rather than Australia.

“This can be distinguished from cases where former training partners divided their stables and continued in competition.”

RV said a precedent for its original decision was set when David Hayes left a partnership with his son Ben in June 2020, paving the way for Tom Dabernig to become a co-trainer at the Lindsay Park operation.

Ahead of Friday’s announcement, Maher was hopeful RV would follow a Racing NSW lead in adding his wins to those he collected with Eustace.

“Hopefully common sense (prevails) … if you’re a football team and your coach leaves you don’t go back to zero,” Maher told SEN Track.

Something doesn’t add up for Maher in bid for premiership recognition

A Racing Victoria decision has earned the ire of the all-conquering Ciaron Maher stable as it starts the post-David Eustace era.

The StraightWarwick Barr

Up to Thursday’s racing, Maher had four winners since he returned to training under his name only.

He leads the Victorian trainers’ premiership with 102 wins to Lindsay Park’s 81 while he has an 18-win advantage over the same stable in the race for city title honours.