Melbourne Cup-winning trainer John Meagher is considering becoming Victorian again as he despairs with the lack of opportunities and decent prizemoney for his horses in Queensland.
Meagher, trainer of 1985 Cup winner What A Nuisance, is currently operating a satellite stable on the Mornington Peninsula and also juggling his stable at Eagle Farm.
With the help of sons Chris and Dan, Meagher is likely to have increasing numbers in Victoria and perhaps look a full-time move.
The prizemoney differential between Queensland and Victoria means Meagher is finding it tough to attract owners to race in the Sunshine State.
Meagher has had a Brisbane base since 2012 since he returned from 11 successful years in Singapore where he won more than 550 races including seven Group Is.
But it doesn't look a safe bet that he will be in Queensland for too much longer in the future.
"If you only train 1000m-1400m in Queensland you'd probably be OK, but there aren't many good opportunities to place other horses here," Meagher says.
"I think Victoria is the best place to have horses as there are far more opportunities and obviously the prizemoney is much greater.
"I currently have 12 horses in training at Eagle Farm and 10 down here (Victoria) but those numbers may change."
Meagher, who will have runners including Savanna Amour and Meet And Greet in Melbourne in the coming weeks, would dearly love to have another Melbourne Cup runner in the future.
The 68-year-old loves training stayers but knows it is much harder for locals to have a Cup contender these days. But he insists he has some unfinished business.
"When I won the Cup with What A Nuisance there was a lot of New Zealand or Australian stayers," he reflects.
"These days they fly them in and fly them out from Europe, which makes it a lot harder for some of us Australian trainers.
"But yes, I'd just love to have a runner again in that big race on the first Tuesday in November."
