THE SUNDAY STORY: A YOUNG MAN ON A MISSION

By Graham Potter | Sunday, May 28, 2023

Harry Cahill is only thirteen years of age but, for now at least, he already has the answer to one of life’s key questions … one that many of us never answer until much later in life, if ever.

Harry wants to be a jockey, just like his granddad, just like his father, just like his uncle.

“He’s thirteen, so it’s very early days for him,” said Harry’s father, Michael Cahill, putting the current situation in proper perspective, “but that is what he wants to do at this stage.

Given his surroundings, it might seem an obvious career path choice for the youngster, but this is no pipedream. Harry is already doing everything in his power to make certain as little as possible is left to chance … and both of his parents, Michael and Maxine provide the ideal support and mentoring team to help Harry move towards achieving his ambition in a proper, responsible and measured fashion.

Michael is a seven-time Group 1 winner. His first Group 1 win came in the 2001 edition of the Doomben 10 000, aboard Falvelon, a race he would win again eighteen years later when riding The Bostonian to a boil-over victory in the10 000 in 2019.

Michael’s race riding resume also includes a host of international experience that money cannot buy.

“I was lucky enough to win those Group 1’s,” said Michael with typical humility, “and, yes, I have ridden quite a bit overseas.

“I’ve ridden in South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Macau, Mauritius, Hong Kong, mainland China and inner Mongolia … so I’ve ridden in every Asian country except Japan.”

Experience doesn’t come much broader than that, particularly when you take into account how many different racetracks Cahill has raced at during his career and the many different types of company and racing styles are incorporated in that full experience … so young Harry could not have a better sounding board in that regard.

But wait, there is more.

Maxine, Harry’s mum, is also a pivotal player in Harry’s story.

“When I used to live in the UK, I was an equestrian riding instructor,” explained Maxine, “and I used to ride and compete myself in the UK … so, I have got a bit of background knowledge to help Harry start off till he gets to a certain level where it will be more up to Michael to guide him … but I can help him now.”

While Harry is now intent on following a path into racing, it is only in relatively recent times that the racing bug has really taken hold.

“Harry has always shown some interest when he was little, but never to the point that he wanted a pony or anything,” said Maxine. “It was the same with Amelia, Harry’s sister. She can ride but she was never that madly keen to want her own horse. She likes riding for pleasure.

“I’d say it’s only been in the last couple of years that where Harry started showing a bit more interest and saying that he wants to ride … and its gradually built from there.

“We were able to have a pony for him to ride. He showed he was keen and, I’d say, from about September, he started to take it all seriously and he has really improved since then.”

The shift to ‘take it all seriously’ is the part where Harry’s focus locks firmly into place.

“He’s grown up with racing, so he has got a pretty good idea of what it is all about,” said Michael, “but as Maxine says, it is probably only over the last two years he has become immersed in it … well, pretty keen on it anyway.

“I was a bit different. My father was a trainer. We had stables in the back yard, so I was riding ponies from the time I was six or seven years old and wanted to be a jockey from the start.

“Harry hasn’t been exposed to horses like that.
“But now he comes to the races when I ride at the Gold Coast. He comes to those meetings because it is just around the corner from home. He doesn’t come to the other tracks.

“He is pretty attentive to the jockey’s different styles … things like how they hold the reins, points of balance. He is pretty up to speed with things like that.

“We haven’t got to the stage yet where he will sit with me when I do videos … but he will watch some videos himself and then come and ask me questions about this or that.

“Harry the right size. He’s got good natural balance about him.

“He has been riding a bit, but, probably the last twelve months, he’s done more of it. He goes out to Tegan Harrisons’s place where he rides one of her horses and we also go down to family in central New South Wales where he rides horses … ponies.

“He is lucky. Tegan has got a nice quiet horse that has helped get him going.”

Tegan Harrison’s property is in the Gold Coast Hinterland and she is very happy to provide a means to help Harry in the practical side of his learning process.

“Obviously, he is that keen to be a jockey,” said Harrison, “that he is training up to do that at home long before he able to start because of his age, but all he is doing now will have him well prepared when he hits the right age and can really get into it … and start the process.

“I’ve known Harry for a long time. I am very close with the family. They are a very good family.

“I think Harry’s big advantage is that he not only has Mick mentoring him … and, of course he is in brilliant hands there … but his mum, being an equestrian coach, is a big factor in itself.

“Maxine is very, very good with kids. She is an excellent coach. When some of the other kids come out and ride ponies at home, if Maxine is there, I quickly snap her up to help out some of the other kids because she is just so good at teaching.

“I think Harry is just set up the right way. Maxine is teaching him about the horseman side of things to start with … which I think is a prefect way to kick off.

“Mick himself is known for being a good horseman so, as I said, Harry is definitely set up the right way to develop the right skills and carry on the right way with it. He does have a similar character to Mick which, again, is a big plus.

“Harry has sort of been hard at it for a while, knowing that is the direction he wants to take so he is getting schooled pretty early.

“Maxine does his coaching, so most of the time Mick and I get put on the bench.

“It’s very enjoyable to watch. Because Maxine is such a good coach and he is so keen, Harry is progressing quite fast. He got off the little pony pretty quick up onto the bigger horse and he’s moving through his grades pretty quickly out there.

“Mick and I … and even Matthew (Michael’s brother) when he came out one day … we just all get a bit of joy out of sitting and watching Harry progress. He is doing really well.”

And the last word goes to the fifty-eight year old Michael Cahill who has been referred to as a veteran jockey for several years now, but who is still doing more than a bit of teaching of his own out there on the track showing his fellow riders how it is done as evidenced by the fact that he booted home three winners in his most recent meeting at Ipswich on Saturday.

“Harry is that keen he’d be riding in races next weekend if he could,” said Michael, “but we all recognise it is still very early days. He knows there is a lot to it, and he knows he has a long way to go.

“We would have supported Harry in anything he wanted to do … and he has chosen to do this.

“It’s all about allowing him to follow his dream and that is what we are doing.”

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