Hawkesbury trainer Noel Mayfield-Smith hopes to kick-start his aim to reach racing’s zenith again at the weekend with a victory on home soil today (Thursday).
He has one starter – Zenith Of Hope – in the R.G. McGees Benchmark 60 Handicap (2000m) leading into his Rosehill Gardens target on Saturday; the $400,000 Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) – with stable star Famous Seamus.
Zenith Of Hope is so far winless from 18 starts (but has been placed on four occasions) and takes on a field with a combined record of 21 successes.
But Noel Mayfield-Smith is undaunted by the task confronting his Excites four-year-old who is out of a Stylish Century mare (Stylish Chanel) and initially fetched $65,000 at the 2011 Magic Millions yearling sales. The maestro Bart Cummings prepared him for his first seven starts before Mayfield-Smith purchased him.
“This is Zenith Of Hope’s second preparation for me, and I’ve got a good opinion of him,” Mayfield-Smith said (on Wednesday). “He’s got the potential to win staying races, but he’s been a frustrating horse.
“He has had a problem jumping away with the field; he almost certainly should have won three races by now. We’ve worked hard on his barrier manners, and I’m sure we’re heading in the right direction.”
Stewards actually barred Zenith Of Hope after he missed the start by eight lengths in a race at Kembla Grange in early January. Mayfield-Smith had to trial him satisfactorily before stewards cleared the gelding to resume racing.
His trainer rated Zenith Of Hope very unlucky at his last start when beaten only a half-length by And God Said Yes – a rival again today – over the same course and distance on March 13. With apprentice Jess Taylor’s 2kg claim, the gelding has a 4kg turnaround on And God Said Yes (Paul Hammersley).
Mayfield-Smith gave Zenith Of Hope three starts (for two placings at Orange over sprint distances) early last year when he first got him, then gave him a good spell and didn’t race him again until November.
Mayfield-Smith, one of only six provincial trainers to hold a No 1 licence, is seeking his fifth victory at racing’s elite level when Famous Seamus (Tim Clark) tackles The Galaxy at Rosehill on Saturday; a day which holds special significance for him as the George Ryder Stakes headlines the program.
For a trainer who doesn’t have large numbers, he is justifiably proud of his four Group 1 winners to date – Angst (1993 Flight Stakes), Landsighting (2000 Stradbroke Handicap and 2001 George Ryder Stakes) and In Top Swing (2003 Caulfield Guineas).
Famous Seamus ran a cracking first-up third at $61 to Villa Verde in the Group 2 wfa Challenge Stakes (1000m) at Randwick on March 15, and Mayfield-Smith reports he has done extremely well since. That placing lifted his stakemoney earnings beyond $500,000.
All going well, Famous Seamus proceeds to the Group 1 $2.5m wfa T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick on April 12 and then another Brisbane trip is on the cards, especially for the $650,000 wfa Doomben Ten Thousand (1350m) on May 24.
“He has shown that he is competitive at weight-for-age, so I really think the Ten Thousand may be more suitable than the Stradbroke (1400m) under handicap conditions at Eagle Farm,” Mayfield-Smith said.
With James McDonald an absentee, last year’s premier Hawkesbury jockey Christian Reith has an opportunity to make up a two-win deficit in this season’s contest.
Reith has mounts in six of the eight races, and Hawkesbury Race Club CEO Brian Fletcher feels his best chances are My Mestari (2000m Benchmark 60 Handicap) and Off The Rails (M&K Plumbing Class 1 Handicap, 1500m).
– Hawkesbury Race Club
