Jockey Michael Cahill whets his appetite for more success
- From: The Courier-Mail
- December 26, 2012
MICHAEL Cahill figures he's already had one big win this festive season and hopes the good fortune continues when he partners Poste Restante in today's Summer Cup at Rosehill.
Weights for the race were raised 4kg, meaning every runner will carry 58kg today.
"I certainly wasn't disappointed to see that," Cahill said. "Fortunately I hadn't accepted any other rides at the time. I would have been dirty if I had to miss Christmas dinner to ride a 33-1 shot in Sydney.
"It means I will be able to have an extra couple of slices of turkey."
Cahill has been in superb form since returning from Mauritius in May and he has struck up a fearsome combination with Poste Restante's trainer Desleigh Forster. The pair combined to win with I'm Cool in the final event at Doomben on Saturday.
He is hoping the removal of blinkers brings out the best in Poste Restante, who chases a fourth consecutive win today.
"She was in a bad mood behind the barriers and just wasn't herself I didn't think. I could have ridden her on a piece of cotton all the previous times, but that wasn't the case last week," Cahill said.
Despite an ability that has made him one of Queensland's most sought-after jockeys since he made the move here in the mid-1990s, Cahill remains humble and quietly spoken.
"I have been lucky to have a good trot since I returned. I've had very generous support from trainers," he says of his time since May.
Cahill's return was interrupted by a fall at Doomben off the Barry Baldwin-trained Wee Bit Snobby on May 30, which put him out for two months.
"Barry said to me at the time he would make sure he found a horse to give me a winner when I came back and he was true to his word because I won on Athanea for him at my first ride back."
Cahill had an indifferent 15 months in Mauritius and he concedes with a growing family, his days of riding overseas for extended periods are probably over, having ridden in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, the UK and Macau.
"I had an offer to go to Dubai, but the competition here is so strong, you really can't afford to go away for two months, so I felt that wasn't a good idea and I turned it down," he said.
"I have a young family now and this is a great place for them to grow up.
"My eight-year-old daughter Amelia's schooling was another factor that contributed to coming home."
Cahill originally went to Mauritius to ride for Hugues Maigrot but with success thin on the ground, that partnership ended, which opened the door for him to strike up a successful relationship with Paul Foo Kune, for whom he rode 17 winners last year.
But the winners dried up at the start of this year and he terminated his contract in April.
"Mauritius is a country that is super mad on its racing," Cahill said. "It's a real pressure-cooker atmosphere."