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Some of best sprinters of recent generations have won the TJ Smith Stakes run at Randwick on Saturday.
Black Caviar was a dual winner ending her career here. The 2021 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday looks an exciting affair.
2021 TJ Smith Stakes: Nominations
2021 TJ SMITH STAKES - RACE HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
The TJ Smith Stakes is a Group 1 sprint race for Open Class horses conducted by the Australian Turf Club at Randwick.
The TJ Smith Stakes is only a relatively new race first run in 1997 and won by the great horse Mahogany.
The TJ Smith Stakes is run over 1200m under Weight For Age conditions.
It was originally called the Endeavour Stakes, but was changed to the TJ Smith Stakes in 1999.
Seven fillies and mares have won the TJ Smith. The mare winners are Spinning Hill (2003), Shamekha (2005) and Black Caviar (2011, 2013). The filly winners are La Baraka (1998), Dilly Dally (2004) and Melito (2010).
Only six 3yos have won it - La Baraka (1998), Shy Hero (2000), Century Kid (2001), Dilly Dally (2004), Melito (2010) and Trapeze Artist (2018).
The trainers have spread the TJ around with Gai Waterhouse winning the race in her father's honour three times and the Hawkes' joined her with Chautauqua's three wins.
Same goes for the jockeys with dual successes to Luke Nolen and Nash Rawiller but again Tommy Berry leads on his three on the big grey.
Five Lightning Stakes winners won the TJ Smith in the same preparation - Mahogany (1997), Apache Cat (2008), Black Caviar (2011/2013) and Chautauqua (2016).
There have been some upsets through its existence with seven winners taking the prize at $17 or more which isn't that usual in WFA sprints.
In 2011, Hay List got three lengths clear on Black Caviar and for the first time the great mare looked in trouble but she wasn't to be denied. It was a great edition.
In 2016 Chautauqua went on to Hong Kong where he'd come from last to win the Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin. A year on, Chautauqua won in remarkable fashion to be the first three time winner.
Santa Ana Lane scored his fifth G1 win, this one at the odds of $7.50. The previous four were Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes ($26), The Goodwood ($26), Stradbroke Handicap ($13) and VRC Sprint Classic ($10).
The 2018 TJ Smith quinella would repeat (in reverse order) in the 2018 Everest.
The 2021 TJ Smith Stakes was worth $2,500,000.
The multiple winners of the TJ Smith Stakes are Black Caviar (2011, 2013) and Chautauqua (2015, 2016, 2017) and other notable winners include Mahogany (1997), Spinning Hill (2003), Apache Cat (2008), Takeover Target (2009), Lankan Rupee (2014), Trapeze Artist (2018), Santa Ana Lane (2019) and Nature Strip (2020).
The 2020 TJ Smith Stakes was won by Nature Strip from Santa Ana Lane and Redzel.
