MILLER BREWS UP A WINNER
RODNEY Miller has worked with three Melbourne Cup winners but rates his triumph in the 2018 Magic Millions Up and Coming Stayers series as his career highlight.
The Cannon Park-based trainer secured the Stayers series crown yesterday afternoon as Barwon dug deep in the final leg of the series to claim the 2018 prize by one point.
Miller is one of many Far North trainers who have followed the series around the region over the last few months, racking up as many points as possible for the extra prize money on offer.
Barwon, Miller and jockey Kirk Stone entered yesterday’s final leg behind leader Sharlee D’Avila and her stayer Beach Head, needing something special to snare the title.
That is exactly what they produced.
The six-year-old gelding exploded approaching the 200m mark, over the 2100m event, and took the lead with just over 100m to go before fighting off race favourite We Just Love It over the final strides.
Barwon was previously under the watch of multiple Melbourne Cup-winner and owner Lloyd Williams, who Miller previously worked for in his stable in Melbourne before relocating north to Cairns.
“It is an ex-Lloyd Williams horse so it makes it better,” Miller said. “It is the best win I have had in my short training career, I set him for this series.
“We originally got him up here for the Cairns Cup but he has only just come good over the last month.
“I thought he would be very hard to beat today and it is great the way he ran … I have been with three Melbourne Cup winners for Lloyd but that was a real buzz for me.”
The owners of Barwon receive $4000, Miller receives $2000 from Magic Millions, while Stone was handed a jockey whip from the Cairns Jockey Club.
“It is the best series we have had so far,” series organiser Rob Koch said.
The idea of the popular series is to give horses that are low in the grades and benchmarks a chance to gain starts and grow their ratings to enable them to become starters in Cup races in the future.
Miller will now push on to the Cairns Cup with Barwon.
“If he gets to his best form, he will be one to watch in the Cairns Cup,” Miller said.