Apprentice Tyler Schiller came within centimetres of having a huge day out at Randwick, winning the Little Dance on Dream Runner after being narrowly denied in the Big Dance aboard Cisco Bay.

Cisco Bay failed by a half-head to reel in Rustic Steel in the $2 million Big Dance but Schiller was content to come away with a consolation victory aboard the Keith Dryden-trained Dream Runner in the $500,000 support act.

“I couldn’t have the ‘big’ one, so I had to settle for the ‘little’ one,” Schiller said.

“But it’s great to do it for Keith. He’s a super trainer and the horse is a really genuine boy, so it was good to get the win today.

“He was very brave to still fight on after that, he copped a bit of a bump (in the straight).

“He had a really tough run the other day. I was confident, when I saw the draw, he was going to get a great run, then it was just trying to find a run at the top of the straight and we got one.”

The victory capped a successful Sydney spring carnival for Schiller, who just three weeks ago landed the biggest win of his career with a brilliantly rated ride on Front Page in the $2 million The Kosciuszko.

It was a more anxious experience on Dream Runner ($11), Schiller having to thread the needle to take an inside run before surging through to score narrowly over the fast-finishing Solar Apex ($4.60 fav) with Steely ($5.50) fighting on for third.

Dryden said Schiller was ultra-confident pre-race and “declared it to me when we were waiting to mount up”.

The veteran trainer has won some handy races during his career, most recently the 2019 Kosciuszko with Handle The Truth, and was happy to add another to his resume.

“It’s another thing I’ve done in my life,” Dryden said.

“I suppose training is coming to an end for me. I’ve probably only got 20 years left, but great to win it.”