Ciaron Maher sets sights on VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes

The VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes is next on the agenda for Sir Bailey after he broke through for his maiden win at Sandown.

Sir Bailey is a son of Jameka who won the 1400m Group 2 race for two-year-olds at Flemington in 2015.

Besides the Sires’ victory, Jameka, trained by Ciaron Maher, was also successful in the 2015 Group 1 VRC Oaks, the 2016 Group 1 Caulfield Cup and the 2017 Group 1 The BMW at Rosehill, at her final start.

Sir Bailey, prepared by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is the first foal of Jameka and scored his maiden win taking out the Ladbroke It! Handicap (1300m) on Wednesday.

Sent out the $1.90 favourite under Jamie Kah, Sir Bailey scored by 1-¼ lengths from Merchant Prince ($4.60) with Water Bomber ($7) a further three-quarters-of-a-length away third.

“You would think a race like the Sires’ would suit,” Eustace told racing.com.

“It makes sense to go to that race and Ciaron will be keen to target that.

“She (Jameka) won that race and hopefully he can win a couple of the races she won as well as that will be even more exciting.

“He’s a lovely horse and it’s exciting to see what lies ahead for him.”

Eustace said the stable had applied winkers to Sir Bailey’s race day gear after his third placed finish at Pakenham on debut.

He said the additional gear had the desired effect.

“That was supposed to happen at his first start,” Eustace said.

“He caught us a little bit by surprise just how laid-back, but we weren’t disappointed, and he ran well considering the way he behaved in the run.

“He was more switched on today. The winkers went on and having the race probably helped as well.

“He’ll take an awful lot of benefit from that. He had to knock one out of the way and he’ll learn a bit from that, get on the right leg and stretch.”

Bookmaker Why Bet Sign Up Full Review
Bet Now at ladbrokes Back Yourself with Ladbrokes! Join Review
Bet Now at neds Back a Winner with Neds! Join Review
Bet Now at palmerbet Sign up to Unibet and start betting in minutes! Join Review
Bet Now at tab Sign up to TAB and start betting in minutes! Join Review
Bet Now at playup Sign up to PlayUp and start betting in minutes! Join Review