Maher’s move, how it happened

LIKE many people, Ballarat Turf Club CEO Lachlan McKenzie woke to news on Wednesday, 30 January that one of the most successful thoroughbred horse racing trainers in the country, Darren Weir, was the subject of ongoing police and racing authority raids.

One was taking place in Warrnambool, the other at Forest Lodge, a sprawling training facility and anchor to the Dowling Forest complex in Miners Rest that also includes the Ballarat Turf Club.

Mr McKenzie and team at the Turf Club had a few options.

He could sit back and watch the process play out, but he also knew that what was taking place within view of his office was more than just about Mr Weir’s reputation.

“We could have sat on our hands, and just say ‘well, Darren Weir Racing has got to comply with the sanctions, and his advisors can sell the property,’ but we just thought by becoming involved we could speed up that process and save jobs,” Mr McKenzie said.

And that’s what happened. A week after the raids Ciaron Maher Racing purchased Forest Lodge outright.

Until that announcement there were jobs and livelihoods in limbo. Many, many jobs. Not just a Forest Lodge but within the supply chain that worked with the operation.

“Business like The Hay Market which provide all the feed to Forest Lodge, and have done for a number of years, they’ve invested in staff and trucks and other infrastructure just to supply that one business,” Mr McKenzie said.

“There’s also farriers and vets and the such and we really wanted to do what we could to ensure that the facility was kept with horses in it because then the staff and those indirect jobs could continue.”

While it’s hard to quantify the exact value that Darren Weir Racing brought to the Ballarat economy, Mr McKenzie said the total value of thoroughbred racing in the region was $59 million and Mr Weir’s operation trained about 40 per cent of the horses.

Something had to be done as there was a need to facilitate the best possible outcome from a bad situation.

Working collaboratively with other stakeholders Mr McKenzie began a process aimed at helping find a solution.

“A couple of days after the raid I phoned Ciaron Maher and asked if he’s interested in leasing the facility,” he said.

“Ciaron was the first person called because in my view he is like a younger version of Darren Weir in his horse training ability.

“He’s got that freakish sixth sense when it comes to horses.”

Mr Maher was interested.

As it turned out leasing the site wasn’t going to be possible as a condition of the sanctions placed on Mr Weir were that he couldn’t receive money from the racing industry, including rent on Forest Lodge.

That meant the only other option was for Mr Maher and his backers to buy the facility outright, something that wasn’t going to be easy for many reasons.

The site Forest Lodge occupies is made up of a mix of Crown Land managed by the Turf Club and freehold lease that was owned by Darren Weir.

“On the Monday I called Ciaron again and said we’ve got to get going on this if you’re serious because if we don’t act very quickly the horses and staff will be gone and the place will be mothballed,” Mr McKenzie said.

Mr Maher toured the facility the next day, shown through the site by Darren Weir.

“It wasn’t like a real estate sales tour, it was more just to show him the way it’s run, the way business had been facilitated in the past and the good, bad and indifferent parts of the property,” Mr McKenzie said.

Mr Maher was again intrigued, returning the next day with advisors and spent the whole of Wednesday working with Ballarat Turf Club staff and Racing Victoria on how a deal could be done.

A deal was done.

“In that one day a valuation was agreed, the terms of sale were agreed, a deed was drawn up by Racing Victoria’s legal counsel which would tie the parties – being Darren Weir Racing, Ciaron Maher Racing, the Ballarat Turf Club and the stewards – into an agreement which meant that the stewards’ requirements were acceptable.” Mr McKenzie said.

“I’m still to this day amazed that we were able to get so much done in one day.”

“By the end of the day we had reached a sale agreement and we had a new trainer at Forest Lodge who was our number one pick from the club’s perspective.

“There was nothing other than sheer relief from me, and for the industry, and I’m eternally grateful for the spirit in which particularly Ciaron approached this with compassion and in terms of the way in which he dealt with Darren Weir, who was under extreme duress.”