It was reasonable to assume the touch of raspiness in Tyler Schiller’s voice on Sunday morning was the result of a little socialising the previous night. After all the popular jockey had posted a dashing double at Randwick just fifteen hours earlier, and had every reason to be out celebrating with connections. The fact is Tyler’s fatigue was totally attributable to the robust appetite of the bonny baby boy born to him and partner Alex just three weeks ago. “He fancies a feed at any time, but he set a new level on Saturday night,” said the proud dad of young Arlo. “Alex of course did most of the work, but my sleep pattern was severely interfered with.”
Twenty five year old Tyler Schiller has enjoyed an undreamed of run of success since arriving in Sydney from the Riverina in 2020. His 45 metro winners in the 2021/2022 season gave him the Sydney apprentices premiership. In 2022/2023 he won 111 races in NSW and 61 in the city. He followed up last season with a state tally of 123 and 67 in town. For whatever reason the young jockey’s run rate hasn’t been quite as fluent over the first three months of the new season, but he’s still managed to rack up twenty NSW wins including a dozen in town. “Just lately I’ve been frustrated that a large number of my rides have looked likely to win before failing to finish off,” said Tyler. “No matter how good a run they enjoyed, I couldn’t get one over the line for love nor money. I was beginning to think it was me.”
Tyler arrived at Randwick on Saturday with mixed feelings about his eight rides on the mammoth card. Only two of them were under double figures and he was far from confident that he could come away with a winner. As it turned out he finished with two winners both courtesy of skilful front running rides. The first was Amazing Eagle in the listed Brian Crowley Stakes for Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou. He’d ridden the Capitalist colt in two races at Canberra earlier this year placing in both the Black Opal Prelude and the Black Opal itself.
Tyler probably didn’t want to lead in Saturday’s black type race but was forced to change tack when Amazing Eagle was virtually left in front. Although pestered by High Octane from the 800m to the turn, the colt blasted away with a handy break on top of the rise. His lack of recent racing kicked in from the 100m but Tyler was able to coax him to a narrow win over late closers Manos and King Of Roseau.
Tyler gets Amazing Eagle home narrowly for Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou in the Brian Crowley Stakes - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Two and a half hours later Tyler was on his way to the barrier on expat Kiwi mare Belclare for the $2million dollar Gr 2 The Invitation. This daughter of Per Incanto came from NZ to the Bjorn Baker stable in the middle of the year as the winner of eleven races including a couple of Gr 1’s. She wore blinkers first up when she led in the Sheraco Stakes in September and literally took charge of Rachel King before weakening out of a place. In the Alan Brown Stakes two weeks later she sat off the pace but still overdid things and again missed the place.
Bjorn Baker’s decision to go without the blinkers on Saturday transformed the mare. “I just let her find her own way to the lead after 100m and she didn’t tighten a rein from there to the hometurn,” said Tyler. “She gave me a terrific kick from the top of the rise and I knew they’d have a job running her down. She easily held two classy mares in Magic Time and Makarena, and proved those NZ Gr 1 wins were no fluke. It was great to get a double on such an important day.”
Belclare ran right up to her best NZ form with a brilliant all the way win in Saturday's Invitation - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Tyler was only weeks away from his first trial ride in 2018 when involved in a freak motor accident at Jerilderie in the NSW Riverina region. He was in the passenger seat of a car being driven by a mate when the unthinkable happened on a wet and slippery road. The car got out of control and collected a fairly substantial tree head-on. Initially Tyler felt little more than discomfort around the pelvic region, but it wasn’t long before he knew the injuries were far more serious. Within a short time x/rays and scans had revealed a serious fracture of the L3 vertebra and associated colon issues. He was crushed the following morning when Doctors indicated his riding days could be over. Those Doctors along with Tyler’s family and friends were in for a major shock.
His attitude remained stoic as he threw himself into rehabilitation, doing everything he was asked to do. His progress was astounding, his resilience unwavering. As his master Phil Sweeney legged him up for that all important first ride back at Jerilderie trackwork, the trainer took some convincing that it was only nine months since the motor accident. Phil managed his apprentice’s comeback with great care. He insisted Tyler have a bigger than normal quota of trial appearances and closely supervised the selection of his rides. Tyler continued to improve in leaps and bounds and was straining at the leash by the time the magic moment arrived - his long awaited and wildly exciting race riding debut.
Tyler is nudging towards 500 wins with three Gr. 1s already on his CV - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
For a jockey who nowadays plies his trade at historic venues like Royal Randwick and Rosehill Gardens, it was a low key start at a Non Tab meeting on the dirt stretches at Hillston in the western Riverina on April 6th 2019. Phil was hoping to have a horse ready for the young jockey’s first public performance, but his plans went astray. “It was a hobby trainer called Marcus O’Connor who put me on a gelding called Little Capri in a 1000m BM50,” recalled Tyler. “I went straight to the front in a seven horse field and just concentrated on steering him around the corner. What a thrill, what a memory. I thought I was Lester Piggott. It’s amazing to think Marcus O’Connor is now my accountant.”
Luke Pepper was the trainer to supply Tyler’s first official TAB winner. The young jockey still had his 4kg claim when he won a BM58 on Gold Touch at Wagga on Gold Cup day - the first of many winners he’d go on to ride for Luke Pepper. He was on Opal Ridge for two stakes wins including the Darby Munro Stakes at Rosehill on Golden Slipper day last year.
Tyler had ridden over 100 winners when he realised it was time to spread his wings. He instigated enquiries with a handful of Sydney trainers and fell squarely on his feet when invited to join the Mark Newnham stable at Randwick. Newnham by this time had earned a reputation as a jockey tutor much in the mould of Theo Green. At the time of Tyler’s arrival in December 2020, Mark was well on his way to a hat trick of Sydney junior premiership wins with his apprentices. Robbie Dolan had won two, and Tom Sherry was on his way to another. By the end of the 2021/2022 season Tyler Schiller had given Newnham’s boys yet another victory.
Tyler at Gosford with new boss Mark Newnham soon after arriving from the Riverina in late 2020 - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
Three months into the new season Tyler’s record reads very impressively - 472 winners, several at stakes level and three Gr 1 victories already tucked away on his CV. The first came on the day he won the Darby Munro Stakes on Opal Ridge. A short time later a rails hugging ride got Mariamia home for trainer Joe Pride in The Galaxy - a momentous occasion for the former Riverina apprentice. His next two wins at the elite level came in quick succession - the Canterbury Stakes on Lady Laguna in March followed by his dashing ride to win the Doncaster with a swooping finish on Celestial Legend less than a month later. Just a week after the Doncaster success he was second on Athabascan in the time honoured Sydney Cup. Almost equal to the thrill levels of the Gr 1’s were Tyler’s consecutive Kosciuszko wins on the flying Front Page.
As a former country boy it’s not surprising that Tyler chooses to live in the rural environment of North Richmond in the Hawkesbury Valley. “People wonder how I can live so far out and continue to ride trackwork at Randwick on a regular basis,” he says. “At the time I drive to Randwick traffic is almost non-existent. I’m there in no time and coming home I’m against the traffic so it’s not too bad. I usually get to Rosehill on Tuesday mornings to support the Hawkes stable. They’ve been very good to me and I like to put something back in. That stakes double at Randwick on Saturday has put the spring back into my step. I’m hoping for a quick follow up over the last two weeks of the Everest carnival.”
Celestial Legend sprouted wings in the last 100 metres to snatch victory in the 2024 Doncaster. Remarkably Tyler rode the horse at his allotted weight of 49 kg - courtesy Bradley Photographers.
(Banner image - Kiwi mare Belclare ran them off their feet in The Invitation - courtesy Bradley Photographers.