Leading hoop Tyler Schiller chasing down Darwin Cup success on his national tour
Young gun Tyler Schiller will take another step towards completing a career ambition when he rides in Monday’s $200,000 Great Northern Darwin Cup.
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Young gun Tyler Schiller will take another step towards completing a career ambition when he rides in Monday’s $200,000 Great Northern Darwin Cup.
Schiller, 25, set himself a goal to ride in Australia’s eight state and territory capital cups.
“It’s something I’d like to tick off during my career and Monday will take me halfway to achieving that feat,” Schiller said.
“The Darwin Cup will be number four on the list, joining the Sydney Cup, Brisbane Cup and the Canberra Cup so that leaves the big one, the Melbourne Cup, Adelaide Cup, Perth Cup and Hobart Cup.”
Schiller’s Darwin Cup mount is the Peter Robl-trained Hadouken, the winner of his two starts on the Fannie Bay dirt in a restricted handicap before a dominant victory in the Buntine Handicap over the 2050 metre Darwin Cup course.
Of those in the Darwin Cup market, Hadouken has been easy, drifting from $3.80 out to $5.50 since drawing the outside gate at Thursday’s barrier draw.
“I think it’s a good draw,” Schiller said.
“He goes forward. I don’t have to put him under any pressure. He’ll get there under his own steam.
“I can dictate the pace from that draw.
“He’s going really well, loves racing at the track and he looks the right sort of horse for the race.”
Back in 2018, Schiller’s career was almost over before it started when a few months into his apprenticeship, he was involved in a car accident.
He was the passenger in a car which slid off the wet road and slammed into a tree.
Tnr Peter Robl will have a Darwin Cup contender ..
— STEVE HEWLETT ðŸ‡ðŸŽ£ 🛥👩â€ðŸ¦³ðŸ“»ðŸƒâ€â™‚ï¸ (@stevejoseph69) July 20, 2024
Hadouken too strong in the Buntine Hcp @DarwinTurfClub
Jarrod Todd rode
Started fav @GCTurfClub@SkyRacingAUpic.twitter.com/Q90WH08C7w
He was rushed to hospital where X-rays revealed he had broken his back, suffered a perforated bowel and had suffered other injuries.
“It was only a minor crash, but I had major injuries,” he said. ”The doctors said I wouldn’t ride again.”
Schiller proved the doctors wrong, got back into the saddle and in a bit more than a year after his accident, he rode his first winner at Hillston, a town in western NSW with a population of around 1500.
From there he hasn’t looked back.
He claimed the Sydney apprentices title in 2021/22 and in March last year, he became the first Sydney apprentice to win a Group 1 race in 15 years when winning his maiden Group 1 aboard Mariamia in The Galaxy.
Last season, in his first full season in the senior riding ranks, he became one of three riders in Australia to ride the winners of more than $20 million in prizemoney which included a win in one of Sydney’s most famous races – the Doncaster Handicap aboard Celestial Legend.
His feat was only bettered by Sydney’s premier rider James McDonald, who’s also widely regarded as Australia’s best, and Melbourne’s premiership-winning rider Blake Shinn.
His first season as a fully-fledged senior jockey in Sydney produced comparable numbers to a select few in the modern era including the likes of James McDonald, Darren Beadman, Shane Dye, Wayne Harris and Malcolm Johnson.
“Everything has happened very quickly and I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve received from owners and trainers,” Schiller said.
“I also think having to compete against my mates Dylan (Gibbons), Zac (Lloyd) and Reece (Jones) in the apprentices’ ranks has been of real benefit to mine and their careers.”
Schiller, Gibbons, Lloyd and Jones are each other’s number one fans and their bond was there for all to see recently when Lloyd became the latest member of the Group 1 winners club in the Stradbroke Handicap on Stefi Magnetica at Eagle Farm on June 8.
“The camaraderie we have when one of us comes back after a win is great,‘’ Schiller said.
“I love seeing them win but it is even better when you can be victorious over them.
“We are all great mates and there is friendly competition between us which does boost you along.
“Hopefully I’ll be the first of the group to win a Darwin Cup on Monday.”
Originally published as Leading hoop Tyler Schiller chasing down Darwin Cup success on his national tour
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