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The TJ Smith Stakes is a Group 1 race held towards the end of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival on Day 1 of ‘The Championships’ at Royal Randwick. A 1200m sprint, the TJ Smith Stakes is a weight-for-age event worth a lucrative $2.5 million in prize money.

For the 2020 edition, the TJ Smith Stakes prizemoney was reduced to $1.25 million to help reduce the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This race should not be confused with former The TJ Smith, a Group 1 race run in June during the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival for two-year-olds, now called the JJ Atkins.

The TJ Smith Stakes takes place on Doncaster Mile Day alongside three other Group 1 races: the $3 million Doncaster Mile (1600m), $2 million Australian Derby (2400m) and $1 million ATC Sires Produce Stakes (1400m).

The 2020 TJ Smith Stakes ran on Saturday April 4, 2020 and was won in a brilliant display of speed by the Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip. 

TJ Smith Stakes 2020
Date:	Saturday April 4, 2020
Track:	Randwick Racecourse
Distance:	1200m
Conditions:	Weight-for-age
Status:	Group 1
Prize Money:	$2,500,000 ($1,250,000 in 2020 due to COVID-19)
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 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) run in Melbourne the month before as well as the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill Gardens a fortnight earlier. The last horse to complete the Newmarket Handicap – TJ Smith Stakes interstate double was Lankan Rupee (2014).

The subsequent two TJ Smith Stakes winners following Lankan Rupee also came off a lead-up run in the Newmarket Handicap with back-to-back champion Chautauqua running 2nd in 2015 and 3rd in 2016. Chautauqua made TJ Smith Stakes history in 2017 when successfully defending his dual titles to become the first three-time winner of the sprint classic.

Horses may finish up their autumn campaign in Sydney by running in the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) held two weeks after the TJ Smith Stakes is run and won. Recent All Aged Stakes winners to come off a TJ Smith Stakes start include English (3rd in 2016), Hay List (2nd in 2011) and Hot Danish (2nd in 2010). The latest sprinters to complete the double were Bentley Biscuit (2007) and Shamekha (2005) both trained by Gai Waterhouse before Trapeze Artist won the TJ Smith Stakes – All Aged Stakes double in 2018.

2020 TJ Smith Stakes Results

• 1st: #1 Nature Strip
• 2nd: #3 Santa Ana Lane
• 3rd: #4 Redzel

Chris Waller’s ace sprinter Nature Strip ($4.20F) ran his rivals into the ground in a brilliant display of speed to celebrate his fourth Group 1 success with a powerful two length victory over last year’s winner Santa Ana Lane ($9) in the TJ Smith Stakes 2020 results.

Click here to read more on the outstanding 2020 TJ Smith Stakes win by Nature Strip.

Place	#	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Margin	Barrier	Weight	SP
1	1	NATURE STRIP	Chris Waller	James McDonald	–	1	58.5kg	$4.20F
2	3	SANTA ANA LANE	Anthony Freedman	Tim Clark	2L	2	58.5kg	$9
3	4	REDZEL	Peter & Paul Snowden	Kerrin McEvoy	2.2L	3	58.5kg	$15
4	2	PIERATA	Gregory Hickman	Tommy Berry	2.4L	9	58.5kg	$5.50
5	10	TOFANE (NZ)	Michael Moroney	Opie Bosson	3L	8	56.5kg	$26
6	7	BIVOUAC	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman	3.4L	6	56.5kg	$4.80
7	5	TREKKING	James Cummings	Joshua Parr	5.1L	4	58.5kg	$31
8	8	IN HER TIME	Kris Lees	Brenton Avdulla	5.4L	5	56.5kg	$71
9	9	EXCEEDANCE	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Sam Clipperton	5.6L	10	56.5kg	$10
10	11	WHITE MOSS	Jason Coyle	Ms Kathy O’Hara	5.9L	7	56.5kg	$151
11	13	LOVING GABY	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Glen Boss	11.6L	12	54.5kg	$7
12	6	VEGADAZE	Anthony Cummings	Adam Hyeronimus	18.3L	11	58.5kg	$71
–	12	STANDOUT	Gerald Ryan	Nash Rawiller	–	0	–	–

2020 TJ Smith Stakes Betting Odds

Early all-in 2020 TJ Smith Stakes odds provided by Ladbrokes.com.au on the hopeful sprinters heading towards the Group 1 classic sprint will be listed below as soon as available.

2020 TJ Smith Stakes Field

The TJ Smith Stakes field attracts the autumn’s best sprinters shooting for a share in the lucrative prize money on offer in the Group 1 feature on the opening day of April’s ‘The Championships’ and is released on the Tuesday before Doncaster Mile Day.

The official 2020 TJ Smith Stakes field and barriers are set to be released by Racing NSW on Tuesday March 31, 2020 and will be published in full below.

The TJ Smith Stakes 2020 final field features 13 sprinters with Chris Waller’s brilliant Challenge Stakes winner last time out, Nature Strip, drawn the rails as he takes on the likes of dual The Everest hero Redzel (3), the defending champion Santa Ana Lane (2) and gun filly Loving Gaby (13) who suffered a blow drawing the far outside alley.

Click here to read more on the 2020 TJ Smith Stakes field and betting odds led by Nature Strip.

Update: Class three-year-old Standout (11) has been scratched from the TJ Smith Stakes 2020 leaving a dozen sprinters.

Full Doncaster Mile Day 2020 scratchings available here.

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight	Hcp. Rating
1	14x4141x41	NATURE STRIP	Chris Waller	James McDonald	1	58.5kg	118
2	251x2151x5	PIERATA	Gregory Hickman	Tommy Berry	9	58.5kg	118
3	x514x225x6	SANTA ANA LANE	Anthony Freedman	Tim Clark	2	58.5kg	118
4	862x138x22	REDZEL	Peter & Paul Snowden	Kerrin McEvoy	3	58.5kg	117
5	131x81324x	TREKKING	James Cummings	Joshua Parr	4	58.5kg	114
6	25x5x61261	VEGADAZE	Anthony Cummings	Adam Hyeronimus	12	58.5kg	103
7	121162×613	BIVOUAC	James Cummings	Hugh Bowman	6	56.5kg	116
8	72x16x93x6	IN HER TIME	Kris Lees	Brenton Avdulla	5	56.5kg	114
9	13x1331x66	EXCEEDANCE	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	Sam Clipperton	10	56.5kg	108
10	x41011x773	TOFANE (NZ)	Michael Moroney	Opie Bosson	8	56.5kg	107
11	610190×324	WHITE MOSS	Jason Coyle	Ms Kathy O’Hara	7	56.5kg	107
12	1112×16	STANDOUT	Gerald Ryan	Nash Rawiller	11	56.5kg	104
13	2x1212x321	LOVING GABY	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Glen Boss	13	54.5kg	116

2020 TJ Smith Stakes Nominations

The TJ Smith Stakes nominations are taken two months out from the race in early February and attract around 100 hopefuls heading towards the autumn classic run over 1200m at Randwick Racecourse.

2020 TJ Smith Stakes First Acceptances

After nominations are taken the list of potential runners is narrowed down with TJ Smith Stakes first acceptances taken in the first week of March, around four weeks before race day.

The 2020 TJ Smith Stakes first acceptances are due to be released on Tuesday March 10, 2020 and will be listed in full below.

The TJ Smith Stakes 2020 first acceptances left 39 hopeful sprinters including William Reid Stakes winning filly Loving Gaby, the Newmarket Handicap champ Bivouac and Chris Waller’s Group 2 Challenge Stakes winner at the track by three lengths Nature Strip.

#	Form (Last 10)	Horse	Sex	Age	Trainer	Hcp. Rating
1	121162×613	BIVOUAC	C	3	James Cummings	–
2	5x2255x497	BONS AWAY	G	6	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	–
3	218x216x20	COSMIC FORCE	C	3	Peter & Paul Snowden	95
4	13x156x2	DAWN PASSAGE	C	3	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	83
5	1x12714x54	DEPRIVE	G	5	James Cummings	107
6	x32441x548	DIRTY WORK	C	3	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	69
7	1350x2790x	EASY EDDIE	G	5	Joseph Pride	103
8	13x1331x66	EXCEEDANCE	C	3	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	–
9	0x1487x010	FAATINAH	G	7	David & B Hayes & T Dabernig	–
10	111x229x18	FASIKA	M	4	Joseph Pride	106
11	2x2914x160	FLIT	F	3	James Cummings	105
12	x21322x105	GOD OF THUNDER	G	4	Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes	94
13	x440x3440x	GRAFF	H	4	Kris Lees	105
14	70x524720x	HOME OF THE BRAVE (IRE)	G	8	James Cummings	–
15	72x16x93x6	IN HER TIME	M	7	Kris Lees	114
16	226x7x1330	JUNGLE EDGE	G	9	Mick Bell	106
17	42439x27x3	KEMENTARI	G	5	James Cummings	109
18	496x30x30x	LE ROMAIN	G	7	Kris Lees	112
19	11x1133x49	LIBERTINI	F	3	Anthony Cummings	100
20	2x1212x321	LOVING GABY	F	3	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	116
21	22x41011x9	MADAM ROUGE	M	4	Chris Waller	105
22	121x3x6132	MICROPHONE	C	3	James Cummings	104
23	8×77182624	MISS FABULASS	M	4	Kris Lees	102
24	446x11133x	MIZZY	M	4	Anthony Cummings	108
25	14x4141x41	NATURE STRIP	G	5	Chris Waller	118
26	251x2151x5	PIERATA	H	5	Gregory Hickman	118
27	862x138x22	REDZEL	G	7	Peter & Paul Snowden	117
28	3011×181	SANGRIA	F	3	Peter & Paul Snowden	79
29	x514x225x6	SANTA ANA LANE	G	7	Anthony Freedman	118
30	3x4101x127	SAVATIANO	M	5	James Cummings	112
31	1112×16	STANDOUT	C	3	Gerald Ryan	104
32	3x1651x127	SUPER SETH	C	3	Anthony Freedman	107
33	0x05120x84	TACTICAL ADVANTAGE	G	6	Kris Lees	105
34	x41011x773	TOFANE (NZ)	M	4	Michael Moroney	107
35	131x81324x	TREKKING	G	5	James Cummings	–
36	25x5x61261	VEGADAZE	G	4	Anthony Cummings	103
37	3x13x422x7	VITAL SILVER	G	6	Daniel & Ben Pearce	–
38	610190×324	WHITE MOSS	M	6	Jason Coyle	107
39	11x1x624x7	ZOUSTYLE	G	4	Tony Gollan	97

TJ Smith Stakes History

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.

A host of champion sprinters have won the TJ Smith Stakes over the years including Black Caviar (2011 and 2013), triple hero Chautauqua (2015-17) and the Chris Waller-trained star Nature Strip (2020).

A new TJ Smith Stakes record was set in 2018 by the three-year-old winner Trapeze Artist who flew home in 1 minute 8.29 seconds, surpassing the previous best time in the event from Black Caviar in 2011.

See below for the full TJ Smith Stakes results dating back to 2000.

TJ Smith Stakes Records
Race Record:	1:8.29 seconds – set by Trapeze Artist (2018)
Most Successful Jockey:	Tommy Berry – 3 wins on Chautauqua (2015-17)

Recent TJ Smith Stakes Winners

Year	Place	Horse	Time
2020 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Nature Strip	1 minute 11.18 seconds
	2nd	Santa Ana Lane
	3rd	Redzel
2019 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Santa Ana Lane	1 minute 10.65 seconds
	2nd	Osborne Bulls
	3rd	Sunlight
2018 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Trapeze Artist	1 minute 8.29 seconds
	2nd	Redzel
	3rd	In  Her Time
2017 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Chautauqua	1 minute 12.44 seconds
	2nd	English
	3rd	Fell Swoop
2016 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Chautauqua	1 minute 10.1 seconds
	2nd	Fell Swoop
	3rd	Chautauqua
2015 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Chautauqua	1 minute 11.04 seconds
	2nd	Lord Of The Sky
	3rd	Terravista
2014 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Lankan Rupee	1 minute 12.1 seconds
	2nd	Rebel Dane
	3rd	Buffering
2013 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Black Caviar	1 minute 9.7 seconds
	2nd	Epaulette
	3rd	Bel Sprinter
2012 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Master of Design	1 minute 8.8 seconds
	2nd	Rain Affair
	3rd	Hallowell Belle
2011 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Black Caviar	1 minute 8.7 seconds
	2nd	Hay List
	3rd	Triple Honour
2010 TJ Smith Stakes	1st	Melito	1 minute 9.2 seconds
	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