Ciaron Maher throws Warrnambool winner Akavoroun in the mix for Queensland assault

BUOYED by a successful first-up raid in Queensland, Ciaron Maher has another ace up his sleeve for the looming features at Doomben and Eagle Farm.

Michelle Payne aboard Akavoroun before winning the McCarthy Catering Handicap during the

BUOYED by a successful first-up raid in Queensland, Ciaron Maher has another ace up his sleeve for the looming features at Doomben and Eagle Farm.

Maher thinks last week’s Warrnambool winner Akavoroun will be a more than worthy travelling companion for impressive Silk Stocking winner Srikandi and Hollindale runner-up Mr O’Ceirin.

In fact, he has made no attempt to hide the opinion in which he holds Akavoroun.

“He’s a good horse. He’s a real good horse,” he said.

A son of Lacryma Cristi, Akavoroun won first-up at Warrnambool last week after 11 months on the sidelines, taking his record to three from three.

He was an easy winner of a Caulfield 1400m last May and Maher’s opinion of the gelding is underlined by him holding nominations for both the Stradbroke and Doomben 10,000.

Maher was feeling the effects of a long week on Saturday afternoon, fatigued from the annual Warrnambool celebration.

He had runners on each of the three days, but didn’t shirk his task after hours either.

“You go hard every night,” he said. “It’s a fantastic week to be part of.”

Maher was encouraged to try his luck in Queensland by former trainer John Collins, who bred Srikandi, from the former talented mare Raining, which he trained to win three races in six starts.

Michelle Payne looks for a way through traffic before winning at Warnambool. Picture: Getty Images

“Raining could have been the best horse I trained,” Collins said.

“We took her to Doomben one day and she won by four-and-a-half lengths, running 1min 08.85sec with Brian York riding her.

“But she bowed both her tendons after that and never raced again.”

Collins, who retired from training aged 38, expects Srikandi to live up to what her mother did not get the chance to do and he has a modest reason for those expectations.

“This filly will be better. She doesn’t have me training her,” he said.

“We probably bred Raining to the wrong stallions early on, but we found the right horse in Dubawi.

“All along I had thought this filly (Srikandi) would come into her own in either Sydney, which came up a bit quick, or Queensland. It didn’t surprise me at all the way she won.”

Dubawi hit the headlines in the UK later on Saturday night, when his son Night Of Thunder caused a big upset in the Group 1 English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The race was meant to be a clash between Kingman and Australia (the racehorse, not the country), but Night Of Thunder won, giving jockey Kieren Fallon a fifth win in the race.