Cover image courtesy of Simon Miller Racing
Miller’s stable is one of four million-dollar earners at this point in the season in Western Australia and he has amassed 19 winners, striking at a rate of 22.1 per cent. Not bad from 28 boxes.
“It’s been good, really good,” admitted Miller. “We’ve had another good carnival so far, and hopefully we can keep the momentum going. We pride ourselves on playing at the pointy end in black-type races, and we’ve bagged a few already so things are going well.”
“We pride ourselves on playing at the pointy end in black-type races, and we’ve bagged a few already so things are going well.” - Simon Miller
The latest in the bag is last weekend’s G2 WA Guineas at Ascot, won, of course, with Amelia’s Jewel. And there’s every hope that Miller will notch another win at the elite level soon enough. The star 3-year-old filly, unbeaten but for a marginal defeat in the Listed Queen Burgess S. earlier this month, has as her next assignment the G1 Northerly S. (1800 metres) on December 3.
“Probably the Northerly will be her next mission, then she’ll have a break,” said Miller. “Once she goes through that then we’ll sit down and come up with her next plan.
“The obvious one would be The All-Star Mile just off the top of my head, but we haven’t locked anything in. There’s a $4 million (The) Quokka (race) in Perth, and if we wanted to stay at home we could play that. There’s heaps of different options.”
The sky’s the limit, for now at least, and so taken with his prospect is the filly’s owner/breeder Peter Walsh that he’s made a rare intervention into Miller’s race planning.
“The only plan he (Peter Walsh) did mention, and he very rarely asks for anything, is when he said: ‘You can do whatever you like, work backwards, but I’d like to have a go at the Golden Eagle.’”
Success for an old partnership
Owner of Amelia Park Estate, Walsh is one of a number of owner/breeders who supports Miller’s stable, and it’s a long association between the two. As a big supporter of local sales, Walsh mainly lets his colts go whilst retaining the fillies he breeds, sending the odd, particularly blue-blooded yearling east.
Simon Miller, Patrick Carbery and Peter Walsh | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
As expected, Amelia’s Jewel means a huge amount to Miller. Having trained elite horses before, he’s well aware of how rare they can be, and it means all the more to him to be doing it for a long-time supporter of his too.
“It’s been a really good relationship… I’ve trained for him for years, and we’ve had a lot of success, but never to the heights that this filly is potentially going to take us. When she (Amelia’s Jewel) started to come along and I gave her a couple of gallops I just said, ‘This is completely next level.’
“I rang Peter one day and said: ‘Are you sitting down? This is the best horse you’ve had.’ He threw out a few names we’d had success with and I told him they weren’t in the same postcode.
“I rang Peter (Walsh) one day and said: ‘Are you sitting down? This (Amelia's Jewel) is the best horse you’ve had.’ He threw out a few names we’d had success with and I told him they weren’t in the same postcode.” - Simon Miller
“You know what a good horse is. They’ve got a brain, an engine and a constitution. When they come along, you know straight away and you just enjoy it. They’re hard to get your hands on, the elite ones. It’s pretty amazing that we’ve got one here, and she’s so well bred.”
The first foal of the Listed-placed Bumbasina (Ire) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}), herself a half-sister to two stakes winners, Amelia’s Jewel is indeed well bred - though it’s very much a European pedigree.
Whilst importing mares from Europe is nothing new, the story of how Walsh came to breed Bumbasina to Siyouni is proof that astute breeders can recognise a good horse a mile off, regardless of hemisphere.
Amelia's Jewel, winner of the G2 WA Guineas | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
“He went to Royal Ascot as part of a Christmas present,” Miller recounted. “Whilst he was there he had some private tours looking at stallions, which included a trip to France, and he fell in love with both Kingman and Siyouni.
“He bought two mares at the Tatts sale and sent one to Kingman and one to Siyouni, and the deal was colts go through the ring and fillies we race. I was fortunate enough that Amelia’s Jewel was a filly.”
The colt upheld his end of a successful novel venture too. Out of the Street Cry (Ire) mare Bound Copy (USA), he sold at the 2021 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for $600,000. Not bad given that Bound Copy was a 45,000gns (AU$84,600) buy from that 2018 Tattersalls July Sale.
Siyouni (Fr) | Standing at Haras de Bonneval
“He saw them (the two stallions) in the flesh and he just loved them. He was ahead of the curve. Ironically, Bumbasina…was empty this year, so he put her on the plane and she actually flew across with Verry Elleegant. She’ll be served by Siyouni again on Southern Hemisphere time.
“All he’s going to do now is leave the mare over there and every year she’ll be served by Siyouni.”
More notable sales success may be just around the corner for Bumbasina too, as her Blue Point (Ire) colt will head to the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale next year, catalogued as Lot 690.
“Unfortunately, I’ve done too good a job with Amelia’s Jewel that I don’t think I’ll have enough money to buy that one. I’ve cost myself a horse there unless someone wants to come at me with a blank cheque book, then I might be a chance.”
“Unfortunately, I’ve done too good a job with Amelia’s Jewel that I don’t think I’ll have enough money to buy that one (Blue Point x Bumbasina).” - Simon Miller
According to Miller, the success has inspired Walsh to exploit the “tangent”, and he has subsequently invested in more European mares, the handful of which are in foal to the likes of Frankel (GB) and Lope De Vega (Ire).
“I’m hoping for fillies, from a selfish point of view,” Miller laughed.
Opportunities in prizemoney
Clearly Miller benefits from his associations with owner/breeders, but he’s also well versed in purchasing young stock at the sales, and a look back at some of his successful horses will tell you that he knows how to find the value too.
When it comes to unearthing said value, Miller asserts that conformation is key.
“The pedigree tells me how much I’ve got to pay,” he said. “I look at type and if it’s by I Am Invincible I’ll need a bucket load of money, but if it’s by a lesser stallion I can lower my sights. I’ve always been type.”
“I look at type and if it’s by I Am Invincible I’ll need a bucket load of money, but if it’s by a lesser stallion I can lower my sights. I’ve always been type.” - Simon Miller
It’s a method which has served Miller well over the years, with prime examples being $75,000 purchase Achernar Star (Gingerbred Man), $45,000 purchase Whispering Brook (Hinchinbrook) and $60,000 purchase Valour Road (Frost Giant {USA}) - all three being million-dollar earners.
And the latest example doesn’t look to have reached her peak yet either. Miss Conteki (Eurozone) will line up in this weekend’s feature race in Perth, the G1 Winterbottom S.
It’s a typically open renewal as some of Australia’s best have converged in Western Australia, with the market is headed by Rothfire (Rothesay) and Vilana (Hallowed Crown), whilst Miss Conteki is a $10 chance.
Gallery: Some of Simon Miller's succesful purchases
Carrying Walsh’s familiar red and green colours, the 6-year-old mare has had a great start to this season, winning the Listed RS Crawford S. on her reappearance, followed by the G3 Prince Of Wales S. - the biggest win of her career so far.
“She’s in the form of her life, but this is the best Winterbottom we’ve had in years,” Miller warned - though he was far from resentful of the competition.
“It’s good to have eastern stables back. With COVID rules here, we were our own little country… It’s good for promotion. The blue army is here now, and they’re always hard to beat - they travel well and they pick the right horses. It’s nice to be able to dance with them in your own backyard.”
Miss Conteki | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
Looking for the next one
Whether Miss Conteki triumphs against the raiders or not this weekend, the 11 races and over half-a-million in prizemoney she’s won provide another shining example of Miller’s talents as a selector.
So, will Miller be heading to the eastern sales next year with a bigger budget off the back of already excellent results this season? Probably not, and with good reason.
“The Gold Coast is beyond us now for Perth, because it’s too expensive unless you’re chasing a filly that carries residual value. The bonus scheme is so lucrative over here that it entices you to buy local.”
“The Gold Coast is beyond us now for Perth, because it’s too expensive unless you’re chasing a filly that carries residual value. The bonus scheme is so lucrative over here that it entices you to buy local.” - Simon Miller
As TDN AusNZ highlighted in a series on state bonus schemes back in August, the rewards on offer to both owners and breeders for state-bred horses in Western Australia are amongst the best in the country. According to Miller, this is shifting the focus of trainers in the state come sales season.
“The studs over here love the bonus scheme because it’s keeping the money here and stopping the likes of me from spending more in the east. Predominantly over my career I would have bought a lot more in the east, but gradually things have upgraded and now you can buy a really good horse out of Perth.
“You can have a crack and get out of jail pretty quickly because you’ve only got to win a few with the bonus scheme on offer and you’re out of trouble. So, it’s definitely enticing people to stay, but it’s horses for courses - if you’ve someone that wants to have a really nice broodmare they’ll go east to buy something with a big page.”
