J. J. Miller

Who is J. J. Miller?

John Miller is a former champion jockey and horse trainer. Miller rode more than 2200 winners in a career which started with his first win after just six races in 1947. He rode his last race in 1988 and then went on to a successful career as a trainer. He rode winners in all Australian states as well as enjoying overseas success in England, Mauritius, Ireland and Singapore.

Miller was often controversial during his career, frequently being in dispute with racing stewards and often being banned from racing for extended periods as a result. In the mid-1960s he moved to South Australia from where he rode for leading trainers in Colin Hayes and Bart Cummings.

Miller rode in the 1965 Melbourne Cup, coming second in a photo finish. His greatest ride was in the following season however, when he won the 1966 Melbourne Cup on Gallilee, completing a "double" after winning the Caulfield Cup just previously. The next year he rode Gallilee again to win the 1967 Sydney Cup becoming the only jockey to have ever won the "triple".

He rode winners in six Australian Derbys, and returning to Western Australia, two Perth Cups and a Railway Stakes. In the 1987 Perth Cup, his Laurie Connell owned mount Rocket Racer won the race by nine lengths in controversial circumstances.