So far, all of Smith’s victories at the elite level have come from interstate raids on Melbourne miles. He trained Hurtle Myrtle (Dane Shadow) to win the Myer Classic at Flemington in 2011 and he won back-to-back Group 1 races last spring with Fierce Impact (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).
Saturday presents a new challenge as Smith lines up Sweet Thomas (Ger) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) and Corncrake (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) in the G1 Schweppes Sydney Cup over 3200 metres at Randwick.
“It’s always great to have runners in these sorts of races,” Smith told TDN AusNZ. “We’ve never had a runner in the Sydney Cup before, so we’re really looking forward to it. We’ve got two horses who are both going well and get into the field as nice light weight chances.”
Matthew Smith
Sweet Thomas is a son of Germany’s champion 2-year-old filly of 2008, Sworn Pro (Ger) (Protektor {Ger}). In contrast to his dam, whose biggest win came over 1600 metres, Sweet Thomas has made his mark as a stayer and won five races in Germany over distances ranging from 2000 to 2800 metres, headed by the G3 German St Leger in 2018.
Sweet Thomas has been unplaced in six starts since arriving in Australia, but Smith has seen promising signs in his current campaign.
The 8-year-old finished fourth in the Listed Parramatta Cup, seventh in the Listed Randwick City S. and seventh in the G3 Manion Cup.
“He’s been great, I’ve been really happy with his runs,” Smith said. “Things just weren’t quite right with him in his first preparation here, but he’s a completely different horse this time in. All of his runs have been good, and I can’t fault him at all.
“Things just weren’t quite right with him in his first preparation here, but he’s a completely different horse this time in.” – Matthew Smith
“He’s ready to go, and I think he’s crying out for the two miles. He won the St Leger in Germany over 2800 metres, carrying 60kg on his back. He’ll have only 51kg on his back on Saturday.”
His stablemate Corncrake is half his age and has had only 11 starts, winning five including his last two in a row at Kembla Grange and Warwick Farm. Smith has a high opinion of the OTI Racing 4-year-old, but warns his best days might be further down the track than this Saturday.
“He’s a different kettle of fish to Sweet Thomas,” he said. “The other horse is a seasoned performer with plenty of miles under his belt, while this bloke is still very lightly raced and on the way up.
“He’s made good progress through the grades, and he gives me the impression he’ll run out a strong two miles. But it’s just a question of whether he’ll be seasoned enough for this sort of race at this point in his life.
“I’m sure he’ll be a better horse in his next preparation, but I don’t think this is a vintage Sydney Cup field, and he gets in with a very light weight. We thought it was worth taking a shot at it.”
Corncrake is out of Harvest Queen (Ire) (Spinning World {USA}), who won the Listed Superior Mile at Haydock and is the dam of two black-type performers. They include Helene Happy Star (Ire) (Zamindar {USA}), who won the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup at Sha Tin and placed in the G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup and G1 Champions & Chater Cup.
All Aged target
Meanwhile, Smith is looking ahead to next Saturday with Fierce Impact, who put his trainer’s name in lights in the spring with brilliant victories in the G1 Toorak H. and G1 Cantala S.
The 6-year-old entire has performed creditably in three starts in this preparation, finishing second in the G1 CF Orr S. and third in the G1 Chipping Norton S. before returning to Melbourne for a fourth placing in the All-Star Mile.
Fierce Impact (Jpn)
“He’ll most likely run in the G1 All Aged S. on Saturday week,” Smith said. “It’s a bit tricky dropping back in distance once you’re well into a preparation, but there aren’t really any other races that we could target with him.
“He copped a bad bump in the All-Star Mile and was a bit sore and bruised after that race, so we gave him a bit of time to get over it. He seems very well in himself now, and his work’s been good.
“He was great in the spring, and he hasn’t really run a bad race in this preparation either. Hopefully, it’ll be more of the same next weekend.”
