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When Tyler Schiller came to Sydney he sat down with his boss Mark Newnham to work out a plan for the 2021-22 season to win the Sydney apprentice title - and with a lead of 12 wins and only with a couple of months left in the season, it looks like they have got it right.
But not only has Schiller become the go-to claimer in Sydney, he has taken the step up into black-type company in the past couple of months winning the Albury Cup, Wagga Town Plate and Dark Jewel Classic.
Tyler Schiller is in great form and trying to wrap up the Sydney apprentices title.Credit:Getty
“We wanted him to win the apprentice title but that means improving as you lose your claim, so the way Tyler has stepped up in the past couple of months has been a highlight,” said Newnham, who has become the master of apprentices in helping Robbie Dolan and Tom Sherry to the junior riders crown in the past three seasons.
“The thing where Tyler has improved is just confidence. He’s not making those mistakes that cost you in early races and it is showing in the results. It is something we have talked about but in the past few months you can just see the improvement every week and he’s just getting better and stronger.”
It has been a season where Schiller rode subsequent Golden Slipper winner Fireburn but continues to step up to every challenge.
Schiller is in the best form of his career and has won races for the past three metropolitan Saturdays, starting with Bring The Ransom win in the Dark Jewel at Scone - and he has another strong book of rides at Rosehill this Saturday. He sits on 37 wins for the season, but he is building associations with last-start winner Philipsburg and Willinga Rufio as well riding Matthew Smith-trained Pappalino in the Winter Cup.
“It is good to stick with a couple of these on Saturday,” Schiller said. “Although I won on Philipsburg a couple of weeks ago, I will be better for the ride on him. He is a nice horse.
“Willinga Rufio won on debut for the boss and is up in grade, but he will run well. It’s just going well at the moment and I wanted to keep it going. I have really been able to put a good period of riding together and it’s the biggest lead I have had in the premiership. I have been staying out of trouble and winning races has certainly helped with my confidence.
“Mark always talks to us about improving and having goals. The goal at the start of the season was to win the premiership and we are getting closer to that.