Maher and Eustace jump at chance to go global

By Bren O'Brien

Ciaron Maher and David Eustace have shown a willingness to forge new territories in the past 12 months, expanding their training operation to new bases in Ballarat and Sydney, while continuing to celebrate success at the recently completed spring carnival.

But the pair is set to take their ambitions global, with Big Blue (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) heading off to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, with a view to a possible shot at the famous Cheltenham Festival in March.

Maher is a former jumps jockey himself and has experienced success as a trainer in Australia's biggest jumps races with the likes of champions Bashboy (Perugino {USA}), Al Garhood (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) and Regina Coeli (Pure Theatre).

He attended the Cheltenham Festival in 2018 and immediately hatched a plan to try and come back with one of his better credentialled jumping horses from Australia.

Finding the right candidate wasn't easy, but the imported stayer Big Blue, talented enough on the flat to have been placed in a French Group 1 race as a 2-year-old, fits the bill.

"The horse leaves on Wednesday. He goes over there and he's pretty fit at the moment. He had a good run on Cup day and we will work toward Cheltenham," Maher told TDN AusNZ.

"Obviously it’s hard to work out where they fit in and it's hard to line up the form, but I think he's got the credentials needed to have a crack over there. He stays well, he handles wet ground and jumps well."

Initially imported by Godolphin after racing for Andre Fabre in France, Big Blue had six runs in Australia before Maher picked him up for $102,000 at the 2017 Inglis Melbourne December Thoroughbred Sale.

Maher set him for a jumps career and he debuted over the hurdles at Ballarat in August last year before winning another hurdle race at Casterton.

He then reverted back to flat racing and caused a huge upset in the $500,000 St Leger at Randwick, leading all the way on a very wet track.

A couple of unplaced flat runs later and Maher sent him back over the obstacles, capturing the feature $150,000 Galleywood Hurdle at his hometown Warrnambool carnival.

From there, the plans for Cheltenham were hatched and he was given a three-run flat spring campaign culminating in his third place in the 2800-metre race on Melbourne Cup day as a launching pad to England.

Getting there only half the battle

It's an ambitious plan, with Big Blue needing to earn a spot in the feature festival with strong performances in the lead-up.

"I am working with the handicappers now, they are finding it difficult to give him a rating. There is no real correlation between over there and here," Maher said.

"That's the first thing and there's a number of races he could run in, I wanted to kick him off in a race in mid-December and then run him every month leading into Cheltenham."

Sarah Webster, who is from the UK but has been working with the Maher and Eustace stable, will oversee Big Blue's preparation over the next few months.

Maher has circled the G1 Stayers' Hurdle, held on the third day of the Festival, as the race he'd like to target with Big Blue.

Held over three miles and featuring 12 hurdles, it was won on four consecutive occasions by the legendary Big Buck's (Fr) (Cadoudal {Fr}) when known as the World Hurdle.

"Providing he's good enough and settled in well, and does everything we hope, I thought a race like the Stayers' Hurdle would suit him," Maher said.

Maher had previously entertained thought of a UK campaign with Bashboy, who won three consecutive Grand National Steeplechases from 2013-2015, but said you have to have the right horse.

"This horse (Big Blue) has really good form in Europe over decent staying trips. You don’t always get the right horses, they need to handle wet ground and be very stout stayers. You don’t get a lot of those types of horses in Australia," he said.

Looking to create history

While there have been a handful of Australian jumps horses to head to the UK in the past decade, success has been limited.

Zabenz (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) was a Grand National Hurdle winner in Australia who contested the G1 Novices Chase at Cheltenham, finishing fifth in 2006.

Further back, the legendary Crisp (Rose Argent {GB}) won the 1971 Champion Chase at Cheltenham by 25l, two years before his famous battle with Red Rum (GB) (Quorum {Ire}) when second in the 1973 Grand National at Aintree.

Maher said the possibility of an appearance by Big Blue at Cheltenham is very much anticipated by the horse's ownership group, headed by the trainers' biggest supporter Colin McKenna.

"They've had a great ride with this horse," Maher said. "They are pretty excited by the possibility."

Maher too, admits a measure of excitement after what has been another successful spring carnival for he and Eustace.

They celebrated a Group 1 victory with 3-year-old filly Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible) in the Manikato S. and tasted 2-year-old stakes success with Tanker (Pride Of Dubai) and Ideas Man (Brazen Beau). On Saturday they had a stakes double with imported stayers Southern France (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G2 Zipping Classic and Azuro (Fr) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) in the Listed Sandown Cup.

"We had a great Moonee Valley carnival, and then the Derby horse (Thought Of That) didn’t handle the wet, and the Cup horse (Southern France) didn’t go to plan, but I thought the 2-year-olds did very well and then we rounded it off well at Sandown obviously," he said.

"It’s been a big year for the team. We expanded quite a bit, taking over Darren Weir's stables at Forest. Success like we’ve had puts a bit of clarity and strength behind it all."