The Winslow-raised Maher, who has gone on to etch a name for himself with multiple group one winners, said his parents John and Eileen spoke to Woolsthorpe trainer Shane Fischer about his interest race horses.

“They ended up sitting on a table with Shane and they had a yarn and on the back of that conversation I started working for Shane,” Ciaron said.

John and Eileen accepted the Keith Wilson Award, formerly known as the chairperson’s award, on Ciaron’s behalf at the South West Sport presentation night on Wednesday. The award recognises a south-west sporting identity who has gone on to achieve at a high level.

John said it was a sense of history repeating – he attended a Port Fairy presentation night two decades ago to accept an award on behalf of his oldest son, talented clay target shooter John.

“We sat down at a table with Shane and we hadn’t met him before and we were talking about race horses,” John said. “I said my boys wanted to own a race horse and that my son Ciaron wanted to ride a race horse, so that’s how it all started.”

Ciaron, who is in Brisbane preparing Azkadellia for the Doomben 10,000, moved to Melbourne six years ago with three horses in his stable.

His empire has grown to include 80 stables at Caulfield and 50 employees.

“Establishing ourselves in Melbourne is a high for us as a team and then there’s the highs of winning feature races,” Ciaron said.

The two-time Crowns Oaks-winning trainer, who said it was a great thrill to accept the South West Sport honour, believes his stable is in good shape.

“We have nice horses and a lot of opportunities to build up,” he said.

“I think we are improving every year in terms of strike rate and if we continue on that path, it would be terrific.”