How a cuppa with the King could land Ciaron Maher his next Melbourne Cup

4 days ago 1

By his own admission, Ciaron Maher was never partial to a cup of tea.

But that all changed last year when he agreed to fly to England to meet the King and talk about training his horse, Gilded Water.

Ciaron Maher is hoping to qualify the King’s horse for the Melbourne Cup.

The gelding had been galloped on and injured during a race at Royal Ascot and King Charles’ racing manager, John Warren, believed he needed a change of scenery.

“His majesty was keen to have a horse racing in Australia,” Maher told this masthead this week.

“I jumped on a plane and went over there and had a quick meeting. I looked at the horse and then actually met his majesty, and we spoke briefly.

“Then they said, ‘Would you like a cup of tea’? I wasn’t really a tea drinker, but I am now, and I thought if I could tell my mum that I had a cup of tea with the King, she’d be tickled pink.”

Maher was right. His mother, Eileen, was so thrilled by his cuppa with the King she has since written the royal family a thank-you letter.

But the royal connection does not end there for Maher. Since arriving in Australia last year, Gilded Water has emerged as a genuine stayer and a Melbourne Cup threat.

He won his last start at Caulfield over 2000 metres by two lengths and if he can win The Bart Cummings handicap over 2500m at Flemington on Saturday – and good judges say he can – the King’s horse is guaranteed a start in the race that stops a nation.

“I think he’s the right type of horse for a Cup if we can sneak him in,” Maher said “I think he’ll definitely get the two miles.”

The King’s horse, Gilded Water, is racing at Flemington on Saturday.

As a result, Maher said he had told King Charles and Queen Camilla that “the plan has always been the Cup”.

“I touch base with them before each run and afterwards, and tell them how the horse pulls up,” he said.

“John [Warren] said they were working out last time he ran what time it would be and whether they would stay up or whether they would watch it the next day.

“They’re very much enjoying the ride so far. I received a letter – I have received a few actually – just how thrilled they were after his win at Caulfield.”

Maher, who won the 2022 Melbourne Cup with Gold Trip, said his stable’s link to King Charles traced back to Warren, a horse breeder in his own right.

He said the stable bought 2022 Magic Millions winner Coolangatta from Warren, as well as buying last year’s Sydney Cup winner Circle Of Fire from the Royal Family. Circle Of Fire is a half-brother to Gilded Water.

“They just thought he [Gilded Water] would be a good fit for us, I would say, on the back of Circle Of Fire,” Maher explained.

For a boy who grew up on a farm on the sea spray-swept rolling green hills of Warrnambool before becoming a jumps jockey, the whole experience has been “surreal”.

When asked about his knowledge of royal protocols, he said he had done a “fair bit of googling”.

King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Royal Ascot racing carnival.

“It’s fairly daunting, even though they are very approachable, and very easy to talk to,” he said.

Maher has now met King Charles three times in the past 18 months, including being invited to the royal box during this year’s Ascot carnival with his partner Alice to have “a quick chat to both their majesties”.

So, is the plan now to win the King a Melbourne Cup and earn himself a knighthood?

“My goal is to just do my job,” Maher said. “But I’m loving the correspondence, and not everyone gets an opportunity to do what we’re doing. It’s pretty cool.”