Matamata horseman Daniel Miller is set to return to the training ranks this weekend when he lines-up Pippy in the Inspire Racing Sprint (1200m) at Te Rapa on Sunday.
The 28-year-old commenced training in 2018 and had instant success, winning his first race courtesy of Sheezallmine, who would go on to win the Gr.3 Stewards Stakes (1200m) and Listed Hazlett Stakes (1200m).
In six seasons, Miller recorded 36 wins, four of those at stakes level, but two years ago he felt the need for change, with the former jumps jockey having worked in the industry since his early teens.
“I took a bit of a break from racing and did a bit of travelling. It was much needed,” Miller said.
“I left school when I was 14 and haven’t done anything else and never really had a break away from horses.
“I travelled around Aussie and I spent a bit of time in Thailand. I got into boxing and Muay Thai, so I did a camp over there for a while and enjoyed life outside of racing for a bit.”
When taking a hiatus from racing, Miller wasn’t sure whether he would return to the sport, but he said the break reinvigorated his love for the industry.
“I was wondering if I would come back to it, but it didn’t take long for me to start missing it and it drew me back,” Miller said.
After returning to his roots and riding work for Te Akau Racing, Miller felt the draw to return to training and subsequently purchased a 20-acre property outside of Matamata late last year.
“I bought Gary Hennessy’s property, which is five minutes out of Matamata, and I took that over at the start of December,” he said.
“There’s 20-acres there and it has got all the facilities – boxes, walker, treadmill, round yard, and everything.
“We are making good progress and it should be a really nice property going forward.
“It is just nice now having my own property, it makes it all worthwhile when you are putting in the long hours. Having a small team of quality staff makes it a lot more enjoyable too.”
Pippy is currently the only member of Miller’s racing team, but that is set to expand with the return of former stable runner, and subsequent stakes winner, Renegade Rebel.
“At this stage, I’ll predominantly focus on breaking in and pre-training,” Miller said. “I would like to think as we get more settled in and as the property’s facilities improve, we will probably take on a few more racehorses.
“I just want to keep the racing team manageable, and I find that I can get better results out of them if I keep the team small and not get too many.
“(The racing team) is pretty much just Pippy at the moment. I have also got Renegade Rebel, who I used to train in his early career before he went to Cody Cole’s when I went on a break. He won a Listed race and never really came back as a later three-year-old and early four-year-old.
“He had a good break and when I got this place I said I would take him back and I can train him from the paddock and do a few different things with him.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, Miller has his fingers-crossed that Pippy can put everything together when she heads to Te Rapa on Sunday.
The daughter of Tivaci was late scratched last month when failing to parade to the start and was forced to head back to the trials where she was given a pass mark after winning her 1100m heat at Ellerslie earlier this month.
“It (first start for me) was supposed to be a few weeks ago, but she has a few behavioural problems so we will go again on Sunday,” Miller said. “I have done a few gear adjustments, and she had to trial again at Ellerslie the other day, which she did nicely.”
