After Briasa announced himself as a potential Everest horse with victory in the $1 million The Hunter (1300m) at Newcastle 11 months ago, jockey Tyler Schiller made a crucial call.

Michael Hawkes, the Sydney face of the training team comprising his father, Hall of Famer John, and Melbourne-based brother Wayne, was in New Zealand when their grey defied a wide gate and a three-wide run without cover to take his record to six wins in seven starts.

“After he won the Hunter, he actually rang me on the way home,” Michael said of Schiller.

“He just said, ‘Look, I need to ride more for you. You know where you’re at, you know what you’re about, you’re team people, you’re easy to ride for’.

“Everyone thinks we’re hard to ride for, but it’s not that, it’s the fact that when you’re trying to get t

See Full Page