While the Group 1 2012 TJ Smith Stakes was hyped up as a two-horse battle between Foxwedge and Rain Affair, huge outsider Master Of Design has ended up taking top honours in the $1 million sprint.
As is typical, Sydney star Rain Affair jumped to…
The TJ Smith Stakes is a Group 1 race held towards the end of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival. A 1200m sprint, the TJ Smith is a weight-for-age event worth $500,000.
This race should not be confused with The TJ Smith, a Group 1 race run a Eagle Farm in June during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival.
The TJ Smith Stakes takes place on the third last meeting of the carnival, Australian Derby Day in April. This great day of racing, held at the esteemed Royal Randwick racecourse, features a total of six group races including two other Group 1 races; the Australian Derby and the AJC Sires Produce Stakes.
The 2011 TJ Smith Stakes will run on Saturday April 9.
| TJ Smith Stakes | |
|---|---|
| Date: | April |
| Track: | Randwick Racecourse |
| Distance: | 1200m |
| Conditions: | Weight-for-age |
| Status: | Group 1 |
| Prize Money: | $500,000 |
| Inaugurated: | 1997 |
Because of the position of the TJ Smith Stakes towards the end of the autumn carnival, punters have a range of lead-up races to gauge the fitness and form of the runners before placing their TJ Smith bets. Good preparation races include the Group 2 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill in March and the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m) held on Randwick Guineas Day.
Horses may finish up their autumn campaign in Sydney by running in either the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) or All Aged Stakes (1400m) held the following Saturday on Sydney Cup Day. In recent years both Bentley Biscuit (2007) and Shamekha (2005) followed up their TJ Smith Stakes wins with a victory in the All Aged Stakes.
The TJ Smith Stakes is one of the youngest Sydney races, first run in 1997. Mahogany won the inaugural race, which was then called the Endeavour Stakes and only held listed status. The following year in 1998, the race was renamed in honour of the renowned trainer Tommy Smith and also received Group 3 status. The event worked its way up quickly, elevated to Group 2 status in 2003 and only two years later in 2005 gained Group 1 status.
| TJ Smith Stakes Records | |
|---|---|
| Race Record: | 1:09.09 set by Takeover Target in 2009. |
| Most Successful Jockey: | N. Rawiller with Takeover Target (2009) and Bentley Biscuit (2007). |
| Year | Place | Horse | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Melito | |
| 2nd | Hot Danish | ||
| 3rd | Mic Mac | ||
| 2009 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Takeover Target | 1 minute 9 seconds |
| 2nd | Northern Meteor | ||
| 3rd | Apache Cat | ||
| 2008 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Apache Cat | 1 minute 11.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Reigning To Win | ||
| 3rd | Takeover Target | ||
| 2007 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Bentley Biscuit | 1 minute 10.6 seconds |
| 2nd | Black Ink | ||
| 3rd | Virage De Fortune | ||
| 2006 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Red Oog | 1 minute 9.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Glamour Puss | ||
| 3rd | Snitzel | ||
| 2005 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Shamekha | 1 minute 12.1 seconds |
| 2nd | Fastnet Rock | ||
| 3rd | Only Words | ||
| 2004 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Dilly Dally | 1 minute 9.9 seconds |
| 2nd | Legally Bay | ||
| 3rd | Mistegic | ||
| 2003 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Spinning Hill | 1 minute 10.7 seconds |
| 2nd | Yell | ||
| 3rd | Bel Esprit | ||
| 2002 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Phoenix Park | 1 minute 10.3 seconds |
| 2nd | Fair Embrace | ||
| 3rd | Spinning Hill | ||
| 2001 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Century Kid | 1 minute 9.8 seconds |
| 2nd | Spinning Hill | ||
| 3rd | Flavelon | ||
| 2000 TJ Smith Stakes |
1st | Shy Hero | 1 minute 39.3 seconds |
| 2nd | Easy Rocking | ||
| 3rd | High Rolling | ||
