BAILEY BACK IN THE SADDLE
Young hoop turns life around with Qld move
BAILEY Wheeler is the young gun of Queensland racing, but the one-time wild child admits it could have all gone pear-shaped less than six months ago before a move to the Sunshine State got him back on track.
Recently turning 18, a raw and honest Wheeler has opened up on his brief, but remarkable racing journey, which saw him quit school and move out of home at the age of 14 to start working for Newcastle trainer Kris Lees.
Mature beyond his years, Wheeler is the first to admit he was heading down a dangerous path before some self reflection inspired him to kickstart his career for Eagle Farm trainer Chris Anderson.
Wheeler has grabbed his Queensland opportunity with both hands, recently booting home eight winners in 48 hours across the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast.
“I wasn’t really a schoolboy, I left there as soon as a I could in high school,” Wheeler said.
“I grew up in Grafton, then moved to Murwillumbah when the old man got a job for Matthew Dunn – that’s where I started riding some ex-racehorses. Then Dad got offered a good job for Kris Lees, I was 13 or 14 at the time, so I couldn’t get a licence, but I left school and started working around the stables there in Newcastle.
“I was working around the stables and as soon as I was old enough, Kris asked me if I wanted to ride work.
“Eight months in, I rode my first trial for Kris, then I rode about 40 of them and Kris said I needed to go to the races. I was 16 at the time.”
After booting home 65 winners around the country circuit, Wheeler admits the occasion began to get the best of him.
“I moved out of home when I was 14, so when I started riding, it obviously all got a bit too much,” he said.
“It is a massive stable and a massive environment at Kris’, things were happening so quickly.”
Taking some time off towards the end of 2022, Wheeler forced himself to make some tough decisions, before the lure of Queensland came up.
“I had three months off, there was a month where I sat down and had a good think about whether I really want it or not?” he said.
“I was there thinking, ‘do I want to be something or do I want to be an idiot?’
“I had been waiting to be a jockey, I had wanted to do it since I was eight years old, and here was an opportunity to do it and I wanted to take it because I was only going to stuff things up otherwise.
“I went back training and got fit again, I started trackwork on the Monday (earlier this year) for Chris (Anderson), then not long after I was riding on a Friday night at the Sunshine Coast. I’m 18 now, a bit more mature mentally, I am enjoying myself now and taking things in my stride.”