KIM MILLER and KEVIN BRYAN

KIM MILLER and KEVIN BRYAN

(Photos: Kim Miller and Professor Reload Kevin, Blythe and Kim with Can't Tie Me Down)

BY JENNIFER MORRISON

October has been a very good month for Kim Miller and husband Kevin Bryan of Tottenham. In a span of 19 days, the first two racehorses the couple purchased broke their maidens. Someday Girl won at Fort Erie on October 7 and Professor Reload won at Woodbine on Oct. 26. Both 3-year-olds are trained by Pat Dixon.

Kim and Kevin were at Woodbine for Professor Reload's victory in a 1 1/16 mile maiden race for $9,500 claiming, taking that race by a length as the odds-on favourite.

“It was nerve wracking and exciting at the same time,” said Kim, who bought the chestnut son of Reload for $12,000 from the 2023 CTHS Ontario yearling sale.

Kim and Kevin own Northview Stables in Tottenham, a property they built up themselves with a house, barn, paddocks and, more recently, an arena. At their farm they have riding horses for lessons, boarders and other Thoroughbreds getting prepared for racing. The couple's daughter Blythe, who works at Woodbine for Dixon, teaches riding at Northview.

Horses came into Kim's life early when a pony suddenly arrived on their property, located where Fairview Mall is now, north of the city of Toronto.

“My parents won a pony at a Hunt Club party by guessing the pony's weight,” said laughed. “So we now had this pony. I started riding, now my kids ride, and my grand kids ride.”

But where did their interest in Thoroughbred racing come from? It came about from a fateful meeting when Kevin, a forensic detective, was on the job some 15 years ago.

“I was called to a robbery in Nobleton,” said Kevin. “It was a farm owned by Joe Stritzl, a prominent racehorse owner. We became friends and attended some of his parties. It was there we met John Brnjas.”

Brnjas, of Colebrook Farms, talked Kim and Kevin about the racing business while the couple took some of Brnjas' retired horses to re-train. Those included stakes winner Seen It All Before, Man Cave and for a couple of years, Grade 1 winner Johnny Bear, who eventually returned to Colebrook.

“We also realized that our daughter Blythe rode in lessons with John's daughter Ashlee when they just seven years old,” said Kim. “So, we put that all together. John has helped us out so much from helping with the building of the arena to advising us in racing.”

The couple also met with Glenn Sikura – Kim knew his father John – and it was from Glenn's Hill 'n' Dale consignment in 2023 that they bought their first horses.

Professor Reload was hip number 18 and Kim raised her hand, buying the youngster from breeder Murray Smith for $12,000.

“She just went right home after that,' laughed Kevin. “It was just the beginning of the sale so I stuck around. I ended up buying another one later on.”

That one was Someday Girl, a daughter of Queen's Plate winner Shaman Ghost, who cost $2,500.

Someday Girl had a third-place finish from five starts as a 2-year-old last year and she was making her second start of this year when she won at Fort Erie.

Professor Reload, named by Kim for her husband since he now teaches forensics, was a growthy juvenile, and he did not make his racing debut until June of this year. He slowly showed improvement through his first four starts and did even better when he was stretched out to a route distance.

The couple is hopeful that the 'Professor' can have another couple of good races before he spends the winter at Northview. “It took a little while for both of them to get going,' said Kim, who added a colt last fall from the sale, a son of Mendelssohn named Can't Tie Me Down. “You need patience but it has been worth every bit of the experience.”