Tyler Schiller heads into Saturday’s Randwick card with a strong hand, taking the reins on the favourites in both of the day’s Group 1 races. Adding extra meaning to the occasion, both horses are trained by one of his strongest supporters — the Hawkes family.
Schiller will once again combine with the father-son training trio of John, Wayne, and Michael Hawkes when he rides exciting sprinter Briasa in the All Aged Stakes (1400m) and rising colt Nepotism in the Champagne Stakes (1600m).
“It’s great they’re both for Team Hawkes,” Schiller said.
“That was the great thing about winning the T J Smith (Stakes) on Briasa. I’ve done a lot of work with the Hawkes team and to reward Michael, Wayne and John with a Group One makes it even more special.”
While John Hawkes may no longer be a regular at the track, he remains a guiding force in Schiller’s career, often offering advice that helps sharpen the young jockey’s decision-making.
“As Michael says, he has been around a long time and he has watched thousands of races,” Schiller said.
“To have him in my corner, even rides that aren’t for the Hawkes team, he is happy to ask about them and tell me where I should do something different and it always improves me as a rider.”
Briasa, who has claimed seven of nine starts, is aiming for back-to-back Group 1 wins after his T J Smith triumph. Schiller believes he’s continuing to improve with each run.
“It’s unknown how far he can go in terms of what level he can get to,” he said.
“He’s won a Group One but whether he can win multiple and be the best in the land, it’s hard to tell. He is just so dominant at the moment and he loves winning. I know he got beaten in The Galaxy but it was more that the 1100 metres wasn’t his ideal trip and the (wide) barrier forced him to do a lot more than what we wanted to.
“He’s got a massive stride and if you can get him balanced and go through his gears, he’s got a really good turn of foot late when you ask for him.”
Nepotism, the son of Brutal and a relative of Black Caviar, is also turning heads early in his career. After a strong third in the Todman Stakes and a convincing Baillieu win, he steps into Group 1 company in the Champagne Stakes.
Despite drawing barrier 11 of 12, Schiller isn’t concerned by the wide gate.
“He hasn’t got a lot of tactical pace so I’m not too worried about the draw,” he said.
“He’s a lovely, relaxed colt. He did everything on his own terms at his first start and got a bit jammed up late and he still showed a really nice dash.
“Last start he got a really nice flowing run, which helped, but he still put away a quality field. There were some nice horses there, Savvy Hallie has come out and run second again behind Tempted so it seems like pretty strong form.”
Schiller’s big day doesn’t end there, as he also partners the highly regarded Swiftfalcon in the Frank Packer Plate (2000m), another major hope for the Hawkes stable.
