Page 2 - December 2016 Thoroughbred Highlight

Trainer Blair Miller’s First Full Season at Woodbine
rainer Blair Miller is no stranger at Woodbine. Wetmore’s show horses and two of trainer Tommy For many years he nished up the meet at his O’Keefe’s Thoroughbred racehorses to Aiken, South
home track, Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba in September then would venture to Toronto until the end of the Woodbine season.
Carolina one winter. She returned in the Spring and began working as a hotwalker at Woodbine before eventually galloping for trainer John McKenzie.
Today Blair & Sarah work as a team with more than 20 horses stabled at Woodbine they work hard to get their clients’ horses to the winners circle. A challenge for all trainers and Blair admits
that it has been taking a
lot longer than he would
like this year. “I had a lot
of three and four year-olds who had never ran,” Blair re ected candidly, “It took a lot of time and a lot of work but they all got to the races except for one. We are looking forward to a better year next year.”
Blair owns shares in four of the horses he trains
and while the majority of his owners are now from Ontario he trains a couple for Manitoba brothers Barry and Wayne Anderson
who also have an Ontario
resident mare, Cal Bayers, at Ballycroy Training Center in Caledon.
Blair grew up in Russell, a small town in Manitoba, with dreams of becoming a jockey. Just so happened that Blair’s parents were best friends with C.J. “Shorty” Gray, who had a knack for nurturing young talent both equine and human.
Read this terri c article in the Winnipeg Free Press
Before his training career ourished, Blair re ected that he had held every job there was at
a race track, all except putting shoes on horses, “I never did shoeing,” laughed Blair, “But everything else.....I did.”
After 41 years in the
business, Blair has
raced at Greenwood,
Woodbine, Fort Erie, Northlands, Marquis Downs, Mountaineer and Turf Paradise and has won more than 500 races at Assiniboia Downs alone. A former HBPA of Manitoba President, Blair was the trainer of Sovereign Award Champion, Gold Strike in her rst three starts at age two before the owners moved her to Woodbine.
Today Blair is training full time at Woodbine racetrack after moving to Ontario permanently in September 2015 to settle in Caledon with Sarah Fleguel, his girlfriend of seven years.
Sarah met Blair at Woodbine and she too had always been around horses, riding show horses from the age of six and working in show jumping barns. She was introduced to the world of Thoroughbred racing eight years ago when she traveled with Nancy
Sarah Fleguel and Trainer Blair Miller with 4 year-old lly, Marcherdowntheally (March eld - Alyancer, by Robin des Pins), bred by Theodore Smith and owned
by Maplehaven Equestrian Center
Gold Strike (Smart Strike – Brassy Gold by Dixieland Brass) winner of the 2005 Champion 3 Year Old Filly award was bred and owned by Harlequin Ranch and foaled at Tom Dodd’s in Brunkild.
Trainer Blair Miller sent her out 3 times in her 2 year old campaign at ASD, winning the Debutante and Buffalo Stakes.
She was sent to Ontario for her 3 year old campaign, winning the Labatt Woodbine Oaks, Selene S (G3), placing 2nd in the
Star Shoot S and 3rd against the boys in the Queen’s Plate.
Thoroughbred Highlight - Page 2 - December 2016