A $4000 gamble on a six-year-old gelding slapped with a bucking ban has proved judicious for Luke Morgan, with the young Tamworth trainer acquiring “easily” his best horse and the horse finding peace after a turbulent start to life.
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Four More Millers’ combined winning margin in two starts under the newly married 28-year-old is just over 11 lengths, including a near six-lengths victory in the Class 2 Plate (950 metres) at Moree’s Christmas race meeting on Saturday.
The win contributed to Morgan celebrating his first winning treble as a trainer, some 18 months after the horse breaker and racehorse pre-trainer received his training licence.
Morgan credits a change of scenery and extra “TLC” for Four More Millers’ dramatic behavioural and form reversal. He says the former Sydney horse is “thriving” in the country environment provided at the trainer’s Gunnedah Road farm where he works his horses. “You wouldn’t find a nicer horse around the stables,” he said.
Four More Millers’ metamorphosis from blackballed troublemaker to sanguine winner was evident in his first start under Morgan, a slashing victory of more than five lengths in a 1200m maiden at Tamworth on December 4.
Josh Oliver rode the horse for both wins, worth a combined $16,000. The son of I Am Invincible was winless in his 24 starts prior to Morgan buying him, with his best efforts six second and three third placings.
Before Morgan could even enter the horse in a race, the bucking ban – enforced after three race bucking incidents – had to be lifted. That occurred in a barrier trial in Muswellbrook on November 20, where he finished third with Oliver on board in a seven-strong race. Prior to that, the horse had been spelled for 32 weeks after his third bucking strike at Orange on April 7.
Morgan said Four More Millers had to be “re-educated”. “We took him pretty steady for a while,” he said. “In the bigger stables in Sydney they don’t get as much TLC if they’re not a really good horse and up to a Saturday grading. They probably don’t get attention in the big stables. Probably when they come to smaller stables it helps.
“We’ve got a track to do our pace work on rather than cart them in every morning to Tamworth Racecourse to train them. We’ve got a treadmill and arenas to work the horses at home.
“It’s a bit more of a country environment rather than being locked up in small stables all the times … Some horses thrive in that sort of environment. Different horses for different courses. Ever since we got him to the farm he’s thrived and really enjoyed it.”
Morgan added: “Don’t get me wrong. He did have a bit of attitude and character about him when he first got to the farm but I believe he’s turned the corner, I hope.”
The inevitable talk of moving the horse up in class has begun, but Morgan “won’t get ahead” of himself. “He’s certainly well and truly good enough for the horses he’s racing at the moment,” he said. “I’ll just keep taking him steady and hope he keeps going through his grades.”
He added: “He’s been a good little horse so far.”
