A CASE OF SINGAPORE’S LOSS BEING QUEENSLAND’S GAIN

By Graham Potter | Monday, June 12, 2023

The Meagher family, a name entrenched in both Australian and Singapore racing, is better placed than most to come out of next year’s closure of Singapore racing with a sure foothold into the future … and that future is set to be Queensland’s gain.

While the remains a real degree of anger and untold disappointment amongst the local racing community at the Singapore government’s decision to bring racing to an end in October 2024, that decision is set in stone, leaving those directly involved in the racing industry in Singapore pondering hard decisions of their own.

Dan Meagher is one of the many affected by this radical change in circumstances. He, like those around him, didn’t see the closure coming.

“Nobody saw the close-down coming,” said Meagher. “We thought we might be heading towards a smaller and a reshaped industry, but closing … no, nobody saw that. Even if we had thought about any closure, it wouldn’t have been 2024.

“If there had been something like a two-and-a-half year’s notice period then we could have said ok … we can plan an exit strategy and we could move our horses on nice and comfortably … but sixteen month’s notice?

“We have no option but to accept it though.” continued Meagher. “The door is closed. When Singapore closes the door, you can’t open it. There is no key to open it.

“When the decision was announced, within the racing community there was initially shock and sadness, but that quickly turned to anger … and there is still a lot of anger around at the situation being pretty badly handled, particularly as there s probably about 600 people who don’t know what they are going to do without jobs in sixteen months time.

“Those people aren’t in the same position that I am in, and I fully acknowledge that I am just so lucky by comparison.

“You know what, I came to Singapore from Brisbane. The set-up is still in Brisbane … my brother Chris has got his operation going there. I’ve got Brisbane clients and, on top of that, my main owner in Singapore wants to race with me wherever I go.

“That owner, Lim Siah Mong, had been with my father from day one and, when I came back to Singapore, he gave me a few horses to see how I went. We did really well and, from those couple of horses, we just built up nicely from there. He has just been the most loyal supporter you could ever find.

“So, yeah, I am very lucky. At least I know what I will be doing when my time in Singapore comes to an end.

“When that is has yet to be determined. We will continue to race in Singapore as long as we can and then we will move our operation to Brisbane, Australia … and I think that is Queensland’s gain because he is a very good owner with some good horses.

“As it stands now, I am very excited about it. I was always going to come home sometime anyway. I actually half thought about it last year, but it is lucky I didn’t make a move then because we still had a lot of good winners after that and went to Hong Kong and enjoyed that experience.

“But now it is time to look ahead … and to give the horses a good home. That is my priority along with finding my staff new jobs somewhere ... and to keep on winning races until it is time to go home.

“Chris is excited, I think … along with my brother Paul. He’s excited.

“You just have to keep a positive mindset … and you have to think every day what is best for you and your family, your staff and the horses. You have to be a bit selfish. You can’t worry about too many outside things in these situations.

“I’ve come here. I think I have done pretty well. I have learnt a lot since my Brisbane days and, you know what, we have done it and we can be proud of what we have done so, at the end of it all, I can say I’ve knocked Singapore off my list and we can go back eventually and start a new life and take up a new challenge in Brisbane.”

Meagher will bring with him all that he has achieved in Singapore both in terms of his results record and reputation and, as he said, his bother Chris is excited about the prospect of rejoining forces with Dan.

“We’ve had a brief discussion," said Chris Meagher. "Obviously, there is still a lot up in the air as to what we will probably do as a family, but the general consensus right now is that Dan will come home and we’ll likely form a family training partnership here in Queensland,”

“While the closure is not what anybody in racing wanted, Dan is probably one of the lucky ones. A fair few of those boys in his position have probably got nowhere to go right now which is sad. There’ll be a thousand people currently in the Singapore racing industry that will be scrambling, looking for jobs over the next twelve months.

“You wouldn’t think there would be an abundance of horses still left there by next October. They plan to finish up on Gold Cup Day … which is the Melbourne Cup of Singapore … and, by then, you’d expect that they will probably only have about a quarter of the trainers left by then.

“Looking forward, for our family, there are obvious positives. It will be great having my brother back in Australia. It will be a case of two heads being better than one working with Dan … with a shared workload … and Dan will obviously bring some nice horses back with him which will be an added bonus.

“It’s funny how things work out. I’m going to inherit probably half-a-dozen to ten horses and have my brother back here in Australia, which is great.

“Dan’s main owner is more than happy to be sending those horses back here and I’m obviously hoping that Lim’s Kosciusko is one of them, because there is going to be some pretty nice races for him here over the next six to twelve months.

“The transition all sounds quite positive at the moment.

"We’ve still got to work out the logistics, but when it all actually coming to fruition is still some way down the track yet.”

The certainty is that it is going to happen though and, you have got to believe that Dan Meagher will not be the only current Singapore based trainer eyeing the Sunshine State.

With stables throughout the state advertising for staff on a regular basis it would be nice to think that Racing Queensland and the Government will be proactive in streamlining visa procedures for the experienced stable staff from Singapore who might be looking to continue working in the racing industry.

That would be a win- win situation for all involved!

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