She has most certainly been thrown in the deep end against seasoned stayers but if the black mare is to be a contender in the TAB Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival, this is a race she needs to be competitive in.
The Camooweal connections have sent their emerging mare to Townsville’s Tony Comerford to train, who also looked after Deadly Choices in his Cleveland Bay campaign.
“It is about if she will run the journey, run further than the mile,” Miller said.
“It was a heavy track the other day and she still seemed to be running on, which gives us the indication that she might like a bit more ground but we will not know for sure until she tries it.
“We would like her to be a Cup horse – the longer races – if she can show she can run that distance.
“Time will only tell; you need to try them over these distances and see what suits them.”
The four-year-old mare has raced closer to home, for the owners, in Mt Isa at times in her career but is destined to be on the coast if she is going to reach her potential.
And, she loves the sting out of the ground.
“The win the other day was really good,” Miller said.
“She came and raced out here at Mt Isa for a little while but the track here does not suit her style of racing, she likes to get back and be ridden cold, and then have a crack at them at the end.
“Mt Isa being a sand track, it does not let the back markers do that unless you go wide to stay away from the kickback.”
Deadly Choices is living out his retirement at the Hick’s property.
Damien Finter trained both 'Choices' and 'Diva' when they were based in Mt Isa.
“He was amazing for all of us, we had the ride of a lifetime,” Finter said.
“He is definitely getting looked after now in retirement.”
The Deadly duo has taken the connections as well as their trainers – Finter and Comerford – on a thrilling ride.
“We had a hell of a lot of fun with him and hopefully we can do the same with this mare,” Miller said.
“She showed plenty of promise as a three-year-old down in Townsville, she raced against all the best horses of Roy Chillemi’s, they had great three-year-old form and she was racing amongst them.
“Then, she came back to Mt Isa to be a bit closer to us so we could see her race, which is part of it and fun, to be able to see them race up close like that.”
The winner of Thursday's Winter Cup gains direct entry into the upcoming Townsville Cup and Comerford is optimistic around the mare's chances.
“It’s an open race and they’re all in the same boat really. It’s pretty even and it’s just going to come down to how the race is run,” Comerford said.
“You wouldn’t think she’d have any trouble with the trip after the way she won last start even though it was in easier class.
“She can be a handful and out west she didn’t really handle the dirt.
“Since she’s been back here she’s settled down into her old routine and I’m very happy with her.
“In most of her runs here last year in three-year-old class she got to the line good and indicated she’d get further.
“She was very strong over the mile when she won last start and this race is not as strong as a Townsville Cup or Mackay Cup so it’s good race to see where we go with her.
“It’s hit and hope I suppose, but she’s a horse on the way up and seems to be improving and deserves her chance.”
Miller and the Hicks are joined together by their racehorses, as well as their profession, both running cattle properties with their stock well into the thousands.
It can be a tough business at times with cattle but they are reaping the rewards in recent times.
“Things like floods and drought knock you down but as long as you are still standing, that is all that matters,” Miller said.
They have also raced bush Cup-winning horses such as Regulus – who also claimed a race in town back in 2006 – and Sandwood.
The Winter Cup is one of 10 races from Townsville’s Cluden Park on Thursday afternoon.