Ciaron Maher says he has found his ‘forever home’ in Sydney after formally moving into the Crown Lodge facility at Warwick Farm last week, and he expects it to result in his stable having more local runners.
Maher was set to take over Leilani Lodge at Randwick and was in the midst of refurbishing those barns when Crown Lodge became an option.
He trained his first winner out of his new base when Rock Empire won at Randwick on Saturday and said the transition from Bong Bong in the NSW southern highlands where he had 60 boxes had been seamless.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
“It’s probably the best stable in New South Wales, and not surprisingly,” Maher said of Crown Lodge.
“I was rapt to get in there. We were going to come to Randwick, but we thought this may have been an option. It’s a real showcase and the horses have settled straight away.
“Bong Bong is a fantastic facility, but there are sixty boxes there and I had one hundred horses. I needed a bigger facility. This is perfect. It consolidates it.”
Maher, who still has his Bob’s Farm facility just outside Newcastle, will have a formal opening at Crown Lodge this week and is hoping to start his first season training out of the former Ingham family-owned complex with a Saturday metropolitan winner.
The 2026-27 racing term kicks off at Rosehill where Maher has accepted with three horses, including It’s A Knockout in the Jockeys Celebration Day Handicap (1500m).
The mare has drawn awkwardly in barrier 12 of 13 and Maher will keep an eye on weather conditions before deciding if she takes her place, or is saved for the Coffs Harbour Cup (1600m) on August 7, but he was buoyed by her return to form last start when she beat all but Mickey’s Medal at Randwick.
“It was good to see her back and hitting the line (last start),” Maher said.
“She could have drawn a bit nicer, but what do you do?
“Whether we run here or not, she could end up at Coffs. We’ll see how the race looks and how the track is.”
Maher has produced 45 Sydney metropolitan winners from 377 starters this season to finish sixth on the Sydney trainers’ premiership, but expects to have a bigger presence in the coming years.
“I do feel we will, for sure. Naturally, because it’s a bigger facility,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to the next year, and five years.
“I’m pretty excited with where the business is at, and where it’s headed.”
