Stellar season in the spider for Miller
Stellar season in the spider for Miller
Young reinsman Mitchell Miller is enjoying a stellar season in the spider.
The 22-year-old is the leading concession driver and also sits comfortably inside the top-10 in the race for the metropolitan driver, just behind Aiden De Campo and just ahead of Colin Brown and Morgan Woodley.
It’s heady stuff for the young man, who recently landed his first city double when he expertly guided Jaxon Fella and Western Drover home at Gloucester Park.
“It was really thrilling to drive a double on a Friday night at GP,” Miller said.
“And to do it behind Western Drover, a horse trained by my older brother Dean, was something special.
“Western Drover’s win was also Dean’s first city winner … it was a great night.”
Miller was destined to get involved with pacers.
His father, Darryl, always had a horse or two when the family lived at Wickepin and farmed sheep and raised crops.
Miller was 10 when the family moved to Harvey and that’s when his love of the standardbred really gained momentum.
“I was quite young when I started helping Dad out with his horses,” he said.
“I used to jog them up and quickly progressed to working them on the track.
“Dad asked me if I wanted to drive in the Pony Trots but I couldn’t see the point of driving ponies after working with the big horses.”
Miller is the youngest in his family, with two older sisters – Rebecca, 30, and Hayley, 26, and older brother Dean, 28.
His father and mother, Francine, know the ups and downs of racing and were quite keen for the “baby of the family” to get a trade behind him before embarking on any full-time involvement in horses.
“I listened to my parents and took on a full-time boilermaker apprenticeship,” he said.
“Once I finished the apprenticeship I started working for Greg Bond, which was pretty full on from the start.
“It was a fantastic grounding for me…I mean helping Dad out with his horses was fun but then going to a professional stable was a real eye-opener.
“I stayed at Greg’s place for about two years until his recent trouble.
“I’m now working with Ross Olivieri and I’ve been with him for about two months now.”
Miller loved his time with the Bonds, but he wasn’t a big fan of the 4am starts.
“I live at Ross’ stables … there’s a little condo there and it suits me fine,” he said. “We start work at 6am, which is a lot better than the 4am starts.”
Miller has been driving for about five or six years now, but in his first four or five years he didn’t get many opportunities.
“The first four years when I first started driving I wouldn’t have driven in more than 100 races,” he said.
“It was a pretty steady and slow progression.
“But I’m really enjoying getting the quality drives that are coming my way from the bigger stables.”
Many trainers are starting to put Miller behind their horses as they realise his ability in the cart and the advantage they can get with his concession.
Reg Phillips is just one of the many trainers who is using Miller on a regular basis.
The veteran owner-trainer had no hesitation booking young Miller to handle his speedy and tough pacer Tanaka Eagle.
And the rewards are there for everyone to see.
Miller has driven Tanaka Eagle to three all-the-way victories and the old horseman and his young gun reinsman are on the cusp of qualifying Tanaka Eagle for the upcoming Inter Dominion series.
“Reg and me aren’t fooling ourselves,” Miller said.
“We both know that Tanaka Eagle hasn’t got the ability to win an Inters, but Reg would love to see the horse he owns and trains qualify for an Inter Dominion.
“Reg has got old Tanaka Eagle in career-best form and it would be a dream come true for him to have an Inters runner before he retires.”
Miller is content where his career is at for the moment.
He’s loving his time at Olivieri’s stable and is learning a lot from the astute horseman.
But he does harbour a desire to one day train a couple of his own.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind having two or three horses to muck around with,” he said.
“That’s definitely on the agenda later down the track.
“But for now, I’m really enjoying my time with Ross and learning as much as I can from him.”
Horses have always been a passion of the Miller family and Mitchell has inherited the trait from his parents and siblings.
He is a dedicated young man who looks to have a bright future ahead of him.
Judging by his astute drives to boot home winners at headquarters and at country tracks, Mitchell Miller is a rising star in the ranks of Perth’s up-and-coming brigade.
Wayne Currall