Northland trainer Clayton Stevenson is hoping 'Dad's horse' might benefit from some divine help for Saturday's Ellerslie Jewellers & Engravers Cornwall Handicap at Ellerslie, two years to the day since his father's death.
Stevenson took over the training of Colombia gelding Smedley after his father, popular trainer Dick Stevenson, died in 2014.
Raced in the ownership of Dick and his wife Clare and son Clayton, Smedley won three races while conditioned by Dick and has since gone on to win three races under Clayton's guidance as well as finishing second in last year's Mitchelson Cup at Ellerslie.
The Cornwall would be a doubly fitting race for Smedley to win as Dick Stevenson produced The Strutter to win the long-running stayers' feature in 2011.
"We raced him as a family before Dad died, but he was always Dad's horse. It will be two years since Dad died on Saturday so hopefully he will be watching over us and can help us get home," Stevenson said.
"He's just such a neat horse to train, an absolute pleasure to do anything with."
Smedley turned his form lines around with a comprehensive 4 3/4-length win over Cornwall Handicap rival Bachelor Zeel at Ellerslie last month, the seven-year-old benefiting from a well-calculated ride from apprentice Lee Magorrian.
"I was so pleased with the horse. Finally we had that change of luck," Stevenson said.
"It was a good ride from Lee. He put him in the race and that's exactly how he needs to be ridden and of course it helped there was a bit of rain about.
"He'd been getting back on the rail on slow early speeds and couldn't run on from there, so it was nice to see him do that."
Smedley, named after the Hawke's Bay sheep station where Dick Stevenson first worked, meets a field of 10 on Saturday that includes last-start Gr.3 Rotorua Cup winner Storming The Tower and last-start Trentham Gold Cup runner-up Reka.
"Reka was the horse that beat him in the Mitchelson Cup and he'll be hard to beat again but there are some tough old stayers in there so it won't be easy no matter what," Stevenson said.
"I ride him in his work along Uretiti Beach and his work this week has been good. He's definitely bright and very well in himself."
Stevenson said Smedley would have a week off after the Cornwall Handicap and either head toward a 2100m Rating 85 race at Ruakaka on June 18 or the Kiwifruit Cup at Tauranga a week later. - NZ Racing Desk.
Stevenson took over the training of Colombia gelding Smedley after his father, popular trainer Dick Stevenson, died in 2014.
Raced in the ownership of Dick and his wife Clare and son Clayton, Smedley won three races while conditioned by Dick and has since gone on to win three races under Clayton's guidance as well as finishing second in last year's Mitchelson Cup at Ellerslie.
The Cornwall would be a doubly fitting race for Smedley to win as Dick Stevenson produced The Strutter to win the long-running stayers' feature in 2011.
"We raced him as a family before Dad died, but he was always Dad's horse. It will be two years since Dad died on Saturday so hopefully he will be watching over us and can help us get home," Stevenson said.
"He's just such a neat horse to train, an absolute pleasure to do anything with."
Smedley turned his form lines around with a comprehensive 4 3/4-length win over Cornwall Handicap rival Bachelor Zeel at Ellerslie last month, the seven-year-old benefiting from a well-calculated ride from apprentice Lee Magorrian.
"I was so pleased with the horse. Finally we had that change of luck," Stevenson said.
"It was a good ride from Lee. He put him in the race and that's exactly how he needs to be ridden and of course it helped there was a bit of rain about.
"He'd been getting back on the rail on slow early speeds and couldn't run on from there, so it was nice to see him do that."
Smedley, named after the Hawke's Bay sheep station where Dick Stevenson first worked, meets a field of 10 on Saturday that includes last-start Gr.3 Rotorua Cup winner Storming The Tower and last-start Trentham Gold Cup runner-up Reka.
"Reka was the horse that beat him in the Mitchelson Cup and he'll be hard to beat again but there are some tough old stayers in there so it won't be easy no matter what," Stevenson said.
"I ride him in his work along Uretiti Beach and his work this week has been good. He's definitely bright and very well in himself."
Stevenson said Smedley would have a week off after the Cornwall Handicap and either head toward a 2100m Rating 85 race at Ruakaka on June 18 or the Kiwifruit Cup at Tauranga a week later. - NZ Racing Desk.