Michael Cahill bows out a champion

By Glenn Davis

Michael Cahill was once the “go to” jockey for the late 'Cups King' Bart Cummings whenever he had a horse running in Queensland.

But, as it always does, time has caught up with the 60-year-old Cahill who will put his whip away for good after Saturday’s Gold Coast meeting.

Cahill and Cummings were a dominant force during Queensland winter carnivals in the early 2000’s and struck Group 1 success together with Russeting in the Group 1 Winter Stakes, now Tatt’s Tiara, at Eagle Farm in 2009.

Cahill was Cummings' regular rider when he operated a Brisbane satellite stable in 2001 and was often called upon to ride for the Hall of Fame trainer during carnivals down south.

Cahill had just returned from a riding stint in Singapore when he won the Winter Stakes for Cummings and it was his first Group 1 winner since his victory aboard the Bevan Laming-trained St. Basil in the Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm in 2005.

He also secured the plum stable riding job for Gerald Ryan when the Sydney trainer set up base at the Gold Coast.

He claimed a Brisbane jockeys’ premiership as well as the Macau jockeys’ title in 2003-2004.

Cahill finishes his riding career with 2,864 wins including seven Group 1s, among them a Group 1 Doomben 10,000 aboard Falvelon in 2001 and a Macau Derby on Documentary in 2003.

As well as riding in Macau, Cahill had stints in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Cahill also won the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 on Kiwi sprinter The Bostonian in 2019, two weeks before his victory on the three-year-old in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup at Doomben.

Cahill was still at school when he rode in his first race at Gooloogong in 1979 and recorded his first win at Orange on Melbourne Cup day in 1980.

Cahill has ridden a host of Group winners for many of the country’s leading trainers during his career including Gai Waterhouse, Ryan, John Hawkes, Chris Waller, Cummings and his nephew James as well as John Size in Hong Kong.

He finished riding in NSW last Sunday with a winner aboard the Chris Waller-trained Insinuate at Murwillumbah.

“I’ve had a pretty good run and I’ve been very lucky as it was my dream to be a jockey,” Cahill said.

Cahill also experienced some lows during his career with serious injuries from race falls.

“I was pretty lucky really with falls as a lot of them came late in my career,” Cahill said.

“I was out for four months with the fall in 2000 and it cost me the winning ride on Falvelon in the Hong Kong Sprint.”

Cahill won’t be lost to racing as he’s now working as a mentor and educator in Racing Queensland’s Apprentice Jockey Program. 

However, the name Cahill may not be missing from the racebook for long as his son, Harry, 15, wants to follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a jockey.