They say you must always look forward, not back, because something might be catching up with you.
Well, that is exactly the point of focus apprentice Bailey Wheeler will be intent on bringing to his game when he gets the leg-up back into race action at the Gold Coast on Saturday as he looks to rebuild a career that has stalled on several occasions due to difficult and awkward circumstances … mostly brought on by Wheeler’s himself … which has made his path forward much harder to navigate than it should have been as it brought his commitment and professionalism into question.
Wheeler himself, who last rode six months ago on October 8, has been big enough to shoulder his share of the blame for some wayward behaviour which cost him dearly, not only in financial terms, but also in terms of reputation.
He can, however, confine all of that to the past … and lock that door once and for all … if he really knuckles down this time, because, like many young riders who have endured this kind of turbulent journey before him, Wheeler’s talent in the saddle has never been in question and there is not a person in the game who would not like to see him turn things around and go on to fully realise his potential.
What happens in the immediate future, and ongoing, is in Wheeler’s own hands and the route he will take starts in the second race at the Gold Coast on Saturday where he will ride the unraced gelding Solvent for trained Stuart Kendrick.
Kendrick gives Wheeler another mount later in the day, in the seventh race, in form of New Hampshire, who, by way of contrast to Solvent, is a thirty-six race veteran who can still kick goals having has finished second in his last two starts.
Trainers Renita Beaton and Ben Ahrens have also engaged Wheller’s services on the day to ride Fortuneer and Swift Duke in races six and eight respectively.
While Wheeler is not quite starting over, this is still very much, in many ways, a brand new beginning with, all going well, good opportunities likely to beckon soon.
It might seem strange to talk in those terms about a young rider who has already won multiple premierships (Wheeler took dual premiership honours … the Open and Apprentice titles at the Gold Coast in the 2022/23 season) and who already has races such as the Queensland Cup, (which he won aboard Fancy Man in 2023) to his credit … but, there can be no doubt that the next six months, in the first instance, will be a telling time for Wheeler.
The ball has been lobbed into his court!
Let’s hope he nails his return.
