3 minute read
Some believe it’s important, psychologically, for a horse to spell on a winning note while others believe it’s best to continue to strike while the iron is hot.
Eagle Farm trainer Chris Meagher is a believer in the former and it's why he sent his promising Arentee to the paddock following the gelding's win at Doomben in mid-August.
Arentee had only started six times during his winter campaign but had been in work for six months.
Meagher is a great believer in turning out horses after a win.
Arentee's Doomben win was his sixth in 18 starts and his first beyond 1200m.
"I was disappointed in his previous run when he ran seventh in a Class Six at Eagle Farm as I had him too fresh," Meagher said.
"So, I stepped him up to 1350m which he liked and I put blinkers on him for the first time and he won.
"It's not unusual for trainers to spell horses after they win and I like to do it.
"I like sending our horses out with some petrol still in the tank but Arentee likes being in the stable rather than the paddock."
Meagher had another reason to spell Arentee as he's confident the five-year-old can measure up to the Magic Millions carnival at the Gold Coast in January.
"All going well he'll come back and be aimed for the Magic Millions syndicate race in January," Meagher said.
"We'll see what happens after that, but I think he'll be up to some of the lesser races during the Sydney autumn carnival.
"He'll need to win one or two more races though, so his rating goes up."
Meagher is one of three sons of former Melbourne Cup-winning trainer John Meagher who was a perfectionist during his star-studded training career.
Meagher senior was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame and won the 1985 Melbourne Cup with What A Nuisance.
During his stint in Singapore, Meagher trained nine Group 1 winners including a Singapore Gold Cup with Kim Angel in 2000 - a feat equalled by son Dan, who won the 2021 edition with Lim's Lightning.
Dan and Chris Meagher both have the same work ethic and attention to detail as their famous father.
Meagher Snr never compromised from training in Melbourne to the many years he was in Singapore before his recent retirement.
Chris has strong similarities to his father with a driven personality.
Team Meagher of John, Dan and Chris first came to Queensland in 2012 to set up a training base at Eagle Farm.
It had great success in the early days and utilised an old polo property in the Gold Coast hinterland as a pre-training venue.
They eventually went their separate ways when Dan took up a training position in Singapore in 2017, leaving John and Chris to run the show in Australia.
"I went to Singapore to work with Dan for four months when John rang me up one day and said he was opening a stable in Melbourne," Chris Meagher said.
"He wanted me to come back to Mornington to train as he was selling our Melbourne farm.
"We also had a Gold Coast farm, which we later sold as well.
"I trained at Mornington from 2019 before we closed the Melbourne stable and came back to train in Brisbane in 2021."
Meagher now has a boutique stable of around 18 in work at Eagle Farm.
In the 12 months to September, Meagher had a winning strike rate of 18.2 per cent with 18 wins and 22 placings from 99 starters.
Meagher has always had a good opinion of Arentee since he first set foot in his stable.
"We bought him for $60,000 at the Magic Millions sales and I liked him from day one," Meagher said.
"He had plenty of scope and was very raw, leggy and immature but he had the frame needed to fill out."
Meagher knocked back several offers from Hong Kong to buy Arentee in his early days.
"I've had three big offers from Hong Kong to buy him, but we decided to keep him," he said.
Arentee's latest campaign ended with his sixth win from 18 starts which took his prize money tally to more than $365,000.
He started his career with a few barrier trials in Victoria but it wasn't until October, 2021 when he made his debut finishing second in a maiden at the Sunshine Coast while Meagher was transitioning from Melbourne to Brisbane.
"I actually accepted twice with him in Melbourne but he drew wide and they were wet tracks, so I bit the bullet and pulled up stumps and came north," Meagher said.
"He was narrowly beaten at the Sunny Coast at his first start and his second run was too strong when he needed an educational race.
"He won his maiden at Doomben at his third start and went from a maiden to winning a Class 3 next run which not many do.
"In his first run over 1400m he was placed at Eagle Farm against his own age before finishing a close second to Godolphin's Atherlric in the (Listed) Queensland Day Stakes at Eagle Farm."
In his next campaign, Arentee was back in the winner's stall at the Gold Coast in November last year and then just failed to gain a golden ticket into this year's Stradbroke Handicap when nosed out by Tony Gollan's Tick Tock Queen in The Gateway at Eagle Farm in mid-December.
"Even if he had won The Gateway I probably wouldn't have run him in the Stradbroke," Meagher said.
"I think he's going to be ultra-competitive in those bigger races next year."
Arentee was given his chance in two Group races during this year's Queensland winter carnival but just fell short of the mark finishing seventh to Prince Of Boom in the Group 2 Moreton Cup and fifth to the same horse in the Group 3 Healy Stakes at Eagle Farm in June.
"He won first up in a Class 6 at Doomben with authority and I wanted to run him in a Class Six next but I didn't want to run him with 61kg against Tony Gollan's Antino," Meagher said.
"So, I had to run him in the Group 2 race but he felt the firm track that day behind Prince Of Boom.
"Then he was caught deep and wasn't really comfortable at Eagle Farm in the Healey Stakes.
"He's fully matured now. He came into work weighing 530kg and went right through his whole prep at 545kg."
Meagher will soon be reunited with brother Dan when he returns from Singapore to continue his career in a joint training partnership.
It's looking bright for the Team Meagher brand to once again make its mark in Brisbane.
