Tyler Schiller may have only one winner next to his name in 2026 so far, but the young jockey believes he is in a far stronger position than he was this time last year.
The Sydney-based rider spent three months on the sidelines in 2025 after suffering a vertebrae injury in a race-day fall in May, and admits it took longer than expected to regain confidence and rhythm once he returned.
This time around, however, Schiller is heading into the heart of the carnival feeling far more positive after an encouraging stint on the Gold Coast, where he collected three placings and two fourths from six rides – all at double-figure odds.
“Not many of them were in the market so I was quite happy with the performances I got,” Schiller said.
“Everything ran really well, and I couldn’t be disappointed in my carnival up there, considering everything was close to 30-1 plus.
“Hopefully it gives me a bit of momentum and confidence to be riding a bit better compared to when I first came back from my broken back. I was a bit below par from where I was before I broke my back, so it’s nice to be getting a feel for it all again.”
Schiller has secured rides in eight of the 10 races at Randwick on Saturday, including the Lindsay Park-trained Justadeel in the Listed Carrington Stakes (1400m).
It will be his second time aboard the gelding after partnering him to a solid fourth behind Gringotts in the Big Dance (1600m), a performance that left the jockey confident of a strong showing this weekend.
“He gets in with a light weight again on the weekend and an OK barrier to slot in behind them,” Schiller said.
“He hasn’t got a lot of early speed, but he put himself in a nice enough position from a good barrier in the Big Dance.
“I thought he acquitted himself really well in that race considering he had 52 kilos and didn’t finish far off the winner.
“He is definitely good enough to run a big race on the weekend.”
Schiller will also partner two-year-old Oh Yes She Did for Mitchell and Desiree Kearney in the Kia Ora Bloodlines To Headlines Handicap (1000m).
The filly caught his eye when finishing strongly for fourth behind Shiki in the Gimcrack Stakes (1000m) last October, and while he hasn’t sat on her this preparation, Schiller believes she only needs to have strengthened to be competitive.
“She looked like she needed strengthening a bit, but she had a good grounding and she was doing everything right,” he said.
“I thought her run was terrific first-up, so it will just be interesting to see how she has come back.
“She is going to be a better filly over a bit further. Up to 1200 or 1400 metres might be better for her in time.”
The juvenile event has drawn a field of 11, with Oh Yes She Did and Gold Globe the only runners to have race-day experience going into the contest.
