Robert P. Tiller (born December 11, 1949, in

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) is a Canadian

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them good behaviors and/or coaching them for events, which ...

. A resident of

Brampton, Ontario Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

, he has long been one of the top trainers at Toronto's

Woodbine Racetrack Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track ...

. He has won four training titles at

, earned three Sovereign Awards for Outstanding Trainer and was inducted into the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness racing, harness and Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine ...

in 2008. Tiller began training in 1972 and won his first race with Royal Greek Ship. He had his first starter in the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate from 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of for a ma ...

in 1975, finishing second with longshot Near the High Sea. Some of his early stars include stakes winners Domasca Dan, Elated Guy and Talk Back. Tiller has won four Woodbine training titles, capturing top honours in 1994 with 65 wins, 1997 (55 wins), 2001 (62 wins), and 2003 (72 wins). He was originally known as a trainer of claiming horses, but now trains mainly stakes and allowance horses. Tiller earned his first

Sovereign Award for Outstanding Trainer The Sovereign Award for Outstanding Trainer is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada. Part of the Sovereign Awards, the "Outstanding Trainer" laurel is similar to the Eclipse Award given to ...

in 2001. The year was highlighted by six stakes victories by trainee

Win City {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Win City , image = , caption = , sire = Slew City Slew , grandsire = Seattle Slew , dam = Winsfordan , damsire = Domasca Dan , sex = Gelding , foaled = 1998 , country = Canada , colour = Dark Bay , ...

, who was voted

Canadian Horse of the Year The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honour in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing. Part of the Sovereign Awards program since 1975, ...

. Win City finished second in the Queen's Plate but came back to win the

Prince of Wales Stakes The Prince of Wales Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fort Erie Race Track in Fort Erie, Ontario. Restricted to only three-year-old horses bred in Canada, it is contested on dirt over a distance of miles (1.9 km; ...

, earning Tiller his first victory in a Canadian Triple Crown race. That year, Tiller also trained Rare Friends, the Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. In 2003, Tiller earned his second Sovereign Award after a career-best year with 71 wins including 15 stakes victories and earnings of over

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4 million. Trainee Brass in Pocket was a Sovereign-Award finalist after winning five stakes races. Tiller followed up with his third Sovereign Award in 2004, a year where he was Woodbine's leading sprint trainer with 47 wins in the division. Trainee Simply Lovely was named the Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In 2008, he was inducted in the

. On June 19, 2020, at Woodbine Racetrack, Tiller won his 2000th race. Tiller has been one of Woodbine's leading trainers, especially in the sprint division. He came back into the spotlight in 2017 when trainee Pink Lloyd earned eight straight stakes victories on his way to Canadian Horse of the Year and Champion Sprinter honours. He had to work around Pink Lloyd's early injury problems and adopted an unusual training schedule to keep the horse relaxed in the mornings.

References

Jockey Club of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiller, Robert P. 1949 births Living people Canadian horse trainers Sovereign Award winners Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees People from Brampton Dutch emigrants to the United States