Apprentice Bailey Wheeler’s turbulent time with trainer Annabel Neasham has come to an end with the top trainer terminating their trainer / apprentice arrangement.
In the past Neasham had taken the rare path of twice ‘suspending’ Wheeler from ride riding. On the first occasion, in mid-October last year, it was for a full month. The second disciplinary step came in late January.
Wheeler is not the first young rider whose career, by his own admission, has suffered because of outside distractions … and he certainly won’t be the last … but all of that is irrelevant in the context of just where he goes from here.
In the first instance, the simple answer to that is a transfer to the equally no-nonsense Robert Heathcote stable, but the picture Wheeler has to piece together is far broader than that.
Like some of those caught in a rip tide before him, Bailey has said the right things when referring to the time when he was ‘stood down.’
As far back as November 4, Wheeler said, “I think it is the best thing that could have happened because it sort of knocked me into line. It quickly made me realise what I had lost … how much I had lost … and, at the same time, made me think of what I can achieve and what I’ve got to gain if I go about things the right way.”
Talk is cheap though … and things, overall, have yet to fully go the right way.
Hopefully, Wheeler will now follow a Take 2 version of that sentiment … reset … translate his words into action and move forward in a positive manner.
As has always been the case, riding talent … and Wheeler has that in spades … will only get you so far.
Being offered an opportunity with another top stable is a very fortunate outcome for Wheeler following his impasse with the Neasham stable.
Hopefully, it will provide a welcome turning point in the young rider’s career.
