Warwick Farm trainer Matthew Smith believes a change in thinking has led to his best season in 2022-23 as his stable continues to expand.
Smith has become a regular in the city on Saturdays, but his willingness to travel around the state and country has delivered results.
Trainer Matthew Smith.Credit: Getty
“I used to sit and try to find the right races for the right horse and pick and choose a bit. We have taken the approach of running them in the past year and it has worked,” Smith said. “We give them their chance to be racehorses and it has worked well.
“We have had more runners and more winners.”
Not only are Smith’s numbers up, his winning strike rate has improved as his team has gone from 40 to 50 horses at Warwick Farm. He will have runners at Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Queanbeyan and Goulburn across the weekend as well as taking a team of four to Rosehill, headed by the progressive Floating.
“We give the horses the chance to come through their grades and they have a couple of that are doing that at the moment,” Smith said. “You get a horse like Floating, which I think is a nice stayer in the making, that keeps us in town on Saturday.
“We wanted to get more winners than last season [77 wins] and we will do that, and hopefully, we can get near 100 for the season with [a] good last couple of months.”
Part of Smith’s expanding team is a Pakenham stable, where he has 10 boxes to travel horses to Melbourne and continue his success down south.
It was a crucial cog in almost pulling off a Sydney Cup coup with True Marvel, which was run down in the shadows of the post at $151 in the two-miler during The Championships.
“It’s good to have a change for horses and Pakenham will give us the chance to send horses down there and stay in our system,” Smith said. “It’s something that is part of getting that little bit bigger.”
Smith also has a jumps licence and is likely to have runners over the sticks this winter. True Marvel had two hurdle trials, one before his luckless midfield finish in the Adelaide Cup and another leading into the Sydney Cup.
True Marvel (centre) almost caused one of the biggest boilovers of recent years in the Sydney Cup.Credit: Getty
“He is an absolute stayer and I would like to try him over the jumps, but the Sydney Cup will take us in a different direction with him,” Smith said.
“He needs two miles to be at his best, so we will try to get him into the Melbourne Cup through the Andrew Ramsden Stakes at Flemington next month, and he will certainly run in the Brisbane Cup.
“He showed in the Sydney Cup he is up to running in those good races on the flat, he just needs it get out to the trip where he’s at his best.”
Smith will be out to lift another Midway Handicap on Saturday with Anythink Goes and Miracle Spin, who has been freshened up and drops back in trip after failing on a heavy track at Warwick Farm last time.
Miracle Spin gets another chance after e heavy-track failure at Warwick Farm.Credit: Getty
“He was pretty good at his first two runs this time but I don’t know what to make of that last run,” Smith said of Miracle Spin. “I think he is a horse that wins one of these Midways and can go on with it.”
Anythink Goes stays in Midway grade after being a runner-up to Mayrose a couple of weeks ago, and on the advice of Brenton Avdulla an off-side blinker will be fitted.
“He just wanted to lay in in the straight and if he goes straight I think he gets a lot closer to the winner,” Smith said. “He is a horse with a good record and we were able to get James McDonald, which is always a bonus.”
McDonald will continue his association with Floating after finishing third in the same Midway as Anythink Goes.
“When you can get [McDonald], it adds a bit of confidence because he is so popular,” Smith said. “He said he wanted to stick with Floating and has.
“Floating has only won the two races but he has potential to get over a trip and I would like to give him a chance in Brisbane if he can earn it.
“He is still improving and the breed tend to get better with age and when they get up in trip.
“He has a good turn of foot but might be looking for a little further than 1500m now, but I can see him being a very handy horse in the next 12 months.”
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