Champion trainer Ciaron Maher says jockeys have gone about jumpout pay dispute ‘the wrong way’

Champion trainer Ciaron Maher says jockeys have gone about the jumpout pay dispute “the wrong way”.

Trainer Ciaron Maher trained a treble last Saturday at Caulfield. Picture: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images

Champion trainer Ciaron Maher says jockeys have gone about the jumpout pay dispute “the wrong way”.

Apprentice jockeys and track riders will pilot horses in 18 Cranbourne jumpouts on Monday with senior jockeys directed to boycott such gallops until they are paid.

Jockeys are paid $110 plus superannuation to ride in official trials but jumpouts, considered part of trackwork and support to trainers in return for rides, do not carry a fee.

Racing Victoria has stepped in as a mediator to help the Victorian Jockeys’ Association and Australian Trainers’ Association resolve the pay row.

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“They just went about it the wrong way,” Maher said of the jockey commentary and industrial action.

“I’ve seen one comment that said ‘we don’t care where the money comes from’, which doesn’t sit well with many people.”

Jockeys have campaigned for paid jumpouts, without success or meaningful headway, for the past decade.

The latest round of talks between the VJA and ATA, with RV as an observer, could again not resolve the issue and led to the boycott.

Trainer Ciaron Maher has spoken out about the senior jockeys’ boycott of jumpouts

While not by design, the jockeys’ jumpout action has coincided with a number of elite riders being on holidays this week.

“I think all the main ones aren’t going to be here and they’re making the others (stand down) … the way they went about it, not good,” Maher said.

Maher said one solution would be getting rid of official trials, which would save money and ensure jockeys are paid for their work.

“I like jumpouts, I don’t think we need officials at all,” Maher said.

“They cost a lot of money and they’re exactly the same, you don’t need it.

“It’s just a cost, an additional cost that’s not needed, running trials costs a lot more than jumpouts because they’re run under somewhat race conditions but they’re not.

“You can have an 80kg person (track rider) and a 50kg person (in the saddle).

“Whether there’s a happy medium somewhere and they get some kind of remuneration for their work, which is fine.”

Maher reiterated jockeys “don’t have to ride” in the jumpouts.

“It’s like going to the races, they complain about there being too much racing,” Maher said.

“They don’t have to ride … whoever is down there and does the jumpouts or does the work we give them rides.

“Whoever rides, they don’t do it for nothing, even the lesser jockeys, they get rides on provincial Saturday.

“(Racing manager) Reece (Murphy) will say to me every week, ‘this person has done some work for us, we need to give them a ride’, that’s how it’s always done.”

RV is expected to host further talks between the VJA and ATA this week to help resolve the issue.

Originally published as Champion trainer Ciaron Maher says jockeys have gone about jumpout pay dispute ‘the wrong way’