Expectant father could be in for exciting weekend

[Wandering Eyes]

This weekend could prove to be an exciting one for Matamata trainer Daniel Miller.

The 28-year-old horseman will be lining up Tardis (NZ) (Time Test) in the Listed Counties Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Pukekohe on Saturday for his parents, John and Maree, but he may not be trackside, with he and his partner Paige Weatherley expecting their first child.

“My partner is due to have our first child any day now, so whether I actually make it to the races or not is yet to be decided,” he said.

Miller is looking forward to the challenge of fatherhood and said he is already feeling the responsibility to generate a legacy for his child.

“I am really looking forward to that next challenge,” he said. “It gives me something to really work hard for and try and build something to pass down. That is the main goal.”

It could also be a milestone weekend for his parents, with their brand set to appear for the first time at the races courtesy of Tardis.

By Time Test, Tardis is out of their Super Easy mare Payon Time (NZ), who Miller trained to three unplaced runs before she retired to the paddock where they are hoping she will become a prolific producer.

Miller has a strong record preparing his parents’ horses for stakes races, having trained Sheezallmine (NZ) (Super Easy) to victory in the Gr.3 Stewards’ Stakes (1200m) and Listed Hazelett Stakes (1200m), and La Romanee to win the Listed Welcome Stakes (1000m).

“I have won four stakes races and three of them have been for Mum and Dad,” Miller said. “Two of them were with Sheezallmine, who they paid $1,000 for, and the other one was La Romanee, a two-year-old that was a $20,000 purchase.

“This one they have bred themselves and it is the first horse that will go around with their brand on, so that is pretty cool.”

Miller has been pleased with the swift progression of Tardis, who was broken in in August and has gone on to place in two trials over 800m and is set to make his debut in his first preparation.

“He came in August to be broken in and he has done all of this on one prep, so it is pretty amazing and a testament to the brain he has got,” Miller said.

“He mentally said yes to everything I have asked of him and he has just kept stepping up every time. To think that we would get to even a trial on his first breaking-in preparation, let alone a stakes race is a testament to the horse.

“He is sound, touch wood, so far and he just cops the work, and he has not left a single bit of feed since he arrived in August. He just loves it and I think what he is doing now is on raw ability.”

While impressed with Tardis so early on in his career, Miller expects him to thrive with more time.

“I think he is more of an autumn three-year-old horse that once he starts getting up over a bit of ground, that is when he is going to really find his straps,” he said.

Miller has been pleased with his two trials, and subsequent progress, and is looking forward to seeing how he handles the pressure of raceday this weekend.

“He is going the right way, he has come through his trial well,” he said. “It is obviously a stiff task first-up to the races, but it is two-year-old racing and most of them have only had one or two starts.

“I feel like a Soft track will play into his hands and the extra distance from his trial is only going to help. I just think that will finish off his preparation really nicely and will set him up for a nice three-year-old career.”

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