New daughter means the world to Cup-winning hoop

By Jordan Gerrans

Clutching the Cairns Amateur Cup trophy alongside his young daughter Ella at his Far North Queensland home, Chris Meehan was finally able to savour just how far he has come.

The Irishman has been the toast of the Cairns region this week after saluting in the time-honoured Amateur Cup aboard Perovic on Saturday afternoon.

The 31-year-old has been through the highs and lows of being a jockey in Australia and Europe across his career. 

But, it all changed when he welcomed his first daughter into the world alongside his wife Niamh.

“I was very much doing it for myself before Ella came into the world,” Meehan said of his career in the racing game.

“It was a very rude wake-up call when she came, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

“I realised I was no longer riding for myself; it was her and my family. They depend on me.”

Meehan admits that his mindset and perspective on his riding has changed ‘massively’ since the birth of his daughter. 

He reflects that he was focusing on buying things for himself and enjoying a good lifestyle with all the funds that came from his racing income before she came along. 

After one of the biggest paydays of his career on Saturday in the Amateur Cup, Meehan is able to share the fruits of his labour with his treasured clan.

Young Ella is often at the track and was at Cannon Park on Saturday to celebrate her father’s biggest win since they relocated to FNQ.

“She absolutely loves it and loves the horses,” Meehan said.

“Whenever she hears the horn at the start of every race, her ears prick and she looks around.

“We were trying to get a nice family photo with her and the Cup in front of the winning post on Saturday, but she wouldn’t look at the photographer because she was staring at a pony in the distance.

“She was fixated by it.”

Meehan says the entire FNQ racing community has welcomed his family with open arms and local participants will often give them a hand looking after Ella at the track. 

Meehan lifted the $40,000 Amateur Cup on Saturday and heads into the last two legs of the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival with a number of feature opportunities. 

The brand-new three-day Cairns Super Carnival kicked off with the Cairns Amateur Cup and Lightning Handicap at Cannon Park last Saturday and concludes with the $150,000 Cairns Cup and Magic Millions Daintree Guineas on Saturday.

The $100,000 Cairns Newmarket over 1400 metres is the feature sprint on Friday.

The smiling Irishman has walked an incredible path to become a top rider in Far North Queensland after growing up a world away in Europe. 

The horseman was successful in prestigious races in Ireland and England while riding – in the jumps and on the flat – before relocating to Australia in September of 2019.

After battling a number of serious injuries from riding back in Europe, Meehan was planning to take a break and not be involved in racing when he moved out to Australia.

That changed pretty quickly. 

He initially rode around South East Queensland before taking out a dual-licence so he could train and ride. 

He won races in town and found some success but with a daughter on the way, he knew he needed to lift his earning potential. 

So, he went back riding full-time. 

It was not long ago that the journeyman jockey was battling away at non-TAB meetings around South East Queensland trying to pick up a ride or two a week.

The move to Cairns changed everything for Meehan and his family earlier this year. 

He has just posted his best season in Australia, registering 18 winners at a tick over a eight percent strike-rate.

Cairns trainer Scott Cooper has booked Meehan since he relocated north and says he is a rider that gives his all.

“Chris is an aggressive rider and he is very strong,” Cooper said.

“Actually because he is Irish, you would think his riding style would be different, but he rides like an Australian.”

After a few seasons being based in SEQ, Meehan says he probably should have looked north to further his career earlier. 

“Cairns is a beautiful part of the country,” he said.

“And, I am probably sorry I did not move up sooner to tell you the truth.

“I was struggling with four or five rides a week in South East Queensland but up here, it is a different ballgame.”

In the 1900 metre Amateur Cup on Saturday, Meehan says he thought his chances of winning the race were slim in the run before Perovic lifted in the final stages.

“I galloped him in the middle of last week and I was quite impressed with his work,” the hoop said.

“I was never happy on him throughout the race and thought I was in a world of pain at the 800 metre mark, I just thought we would go backwards.

“But, we were able to take a nice little run on the inside and as soon as I pulled off the back of the leader at the top of the straight, just like that – Perovic came alive underneath me.

“We had all our momentum built from the 600 metre mark and he just started to excel and did so the whole way up the straight.

“We chucked the kitchen sink at it and left no stone unturned; it was great we were able to hit the line in front.”

Perovic and Meehan are unlikely to be able to snare the rare Amateur Cup and Cairns Cup double this Saturday. 

When acceptances were declared on Wednesday morning, Perovic was the first emergency for the $150,000 event.

The Cairns Cup is run over 2100 metres and Meehan says if Perovic does get a run, he will thrive over more ground.

But, Meehan has been booked to ride another galloper with Perovic on the outside looking in.

He will partner Stadium Of Light who finished third in last week’s Amateur Cup.

Meehan will also ride Overlord in Friday’s feature Cairns Newmarket.

“Overlord is a fantastic ride and a good chance,” he said.