David Eustace embraces solo career in Hong Kong away from Ciaron Maher: ‘Not a case of getting out of his shadow’

David Eustace is preparing for life as a Hong Kong trainer to kick off next month and says he would not have been comfortable to go out on his own racing against his former boss and mentor Ciaron Maher in Australia.

David Eustace (left) and Ciaron Maher celebrate their Melbourne Cup triumph with Gold Trip. Picture: Facebook

As David Eustace prepares to kick off life as a Hong Kong trainer, the Englishman reveals he would not have been comfortable going out on his own in Australia competing against his old boss Ciaron Maher.

The Melbourne Cup winner is the new face of Hong Kong racing and admits he is in for a huge challenge in the pressure cooker environment after walking away from his juggernaut partnership with Maher in Australia to pursue his dream of training on his own.

Eustace says such is the faith Maher puts in his staff, it wasn’t a case of leaving his shadow in Australia, it was about doing the right thing by the master trainer.

“I had always been keen to try Hong Kong and I will be forever grateful for the years we had together, but we were both young, so it there was always going to come a point (where it ended), Eustace told Racenet.

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“It’s not a case of getting out of his shadow, I was always going to go out on my own at some stage and I didn’t feel comfortable with that being in Australia straight away.

“It didn’t feel right to do that (to go out on my own) given the opportunity that I got from Ciaron, with the enormity of the business and the size of the ownership group.”

With 28 horses currently to his name in Hong Kong, it is a far cry from the hundreds he and Maher used to manage in Australia, with Eustace saying he is keen to get back to a smaller, hands on, approach to training.

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The new Hong Kong season kicks off at Sha Tin on September 8, however Eustace says he is unlikely to have any runners until later in the month as he looks to make a big impression on fickle Hong Kong owners.

After training on different farms and beaches across different states, Eustace will go to having boxes at Sha Tin and the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s training facility in Conghua in mainland China.

“It is like going to back to when we were just training out of Caulfield and had a small beach property outside of there,” Eustace said.

“It’s not alien to me in any way, but it is a big change from the last few years and I am enjoying having a smaller team and being hands on.

“It has taken a while, it has been a slow build, so I am looking forward to the season finally starting.

David Eustace will begin his solo training career next month in Hong Kong. Picture: Vince Caligiuri / Getty Images

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“I won’t have runners in the first meeting, hopefully I will have some at the end of September, that is the plan.

“I gave some of them a break and then I am bringing some of them along pretty steadily, they all seem to be in good order now.”

Big-time owner Bon Ho is among the owners to give Eustace a horse, with the trainer saying he has spoken to other recent Hong Kong additions David Hayes and Jamie Richards on what to expect.

“We didn’t train for a single Hong Kong client (in Australia), so I was starting from scratch when I came here,” Eustace said.

“David and Jamie have been great in particular.

“David had a really difficult time last year and lost a lot of horses, so he told me about that.

“Jamie had a lean time which was really tough for him, but they had the numbers to work through it.”

Among Eustace’s latest imports is Maher’s Dark Halo, who was last seen at the races last spring.

Originally published as David Eustace embraces solo career in Hong Kong away from Ciaron Maher: ‘Not a case of getting out of his shadow’