TJ Smith Stakes

THE Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes is held at Royal Randwick under weight for age conditions over the 1200m journey as part of a massive day one of The Championships.

Originally entitled the Endeavour Stakes, the race name was changed to honour famous Sydney horse trainer Thomas John Smith.

Notable winners of the TJ Smith are three-time winner Chautauqua (2015-2017), Lankan Rupee (2014), Nature Strip (2020), Santa Ana Lane (2019) and the queen of the turf Black Caviar (2011).

2021 TJ Smith Stakes betting odds

The 2020 TJ Smith Stakes champ Nature Strip is the current $5 favourite for the 2021 TJ Smith Stakes, helped by the autumn form he has already displayed that includes a win in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning Stakes.

Nature Strip’s sparring partner over the last 12 months in Bivouac is on the second line of betting, as the Godolphin sprinter brings his racing career to an end over the autumn carnival. Odds of $7 are available for Bivouac to take out the 2021 TJ Smith Stakes.

Haut Brion Her is the only other runner in single figures with $9 available for the ever improving sprinter.

Best TJ Smith Stakes bookmakers

The TJ Smith Stakes is one of the showpiece events of The Championships and as such the bookmakers come early with the markets surrounding the group one race.

Bookmakers such as Ladbrokes install their markets up months in advance of the start date, showing their dedication to the $2,500,000 race.

The online agencies we put our trust in are listed below, and we recommend anyone interested in placing a bet on the TJ Smith Stakes journey over to any of these sites:

TJ Smith Stakes Betting

Betting on the TJ Smith Stakes

The TJ Smith Stakes is not a race for the young brigade.

In its relatively infantile history, only five three-year-olds have taken out the group one event.

The race has been a favourite backers paradise in recent years. Five of the last eight winners of the TJ Smith Stakes have jumped as clear cut favourites.

Alongside that, only two horses in the race’s history have won the race more than once. Superstar sprinter Black Caviar (2011, 2013) and Chautauqua (2015, 2016 & 2017) are the only multiple winners of the TJ Smith Stakes, whilst Nature Strip will attempt to join them in 2021.

2020 T.J. Smith Stakes result

Recent TJ Smith winners

• 2020: Nature Strip Blows Them Away
  On his day, there is no doubt that Nature Strip is the best sprinter in the country, and on rain affected grown he clearly relishes the going. Nature Strip ran his rivals ragged and gave nothing else a chance when sustaining a genuine sprint over the 1200m and despite peaking over the last 100m the result was never in doubt. One of the market movers on the day Bivouac threw away any chance he had when jumping in the air when the field was released and could do no better than a fouth placed finish.
• 2019: Santa Ana Lane rubberstamps sprinting star status
  It was again Santa Ana Lane that saluted in a Group 1 sprint event, this time on day one of The Championships. Settling towards the back of the field, Santa Ana Lane was unleashed in the straight and absolutely destroyed the field, finishing several lengths in front of the hot favourite Osbourne Bulls and the Tony McEvoy-trained
• 2018: Trapeze Artist upsets red-hot favourite Redzel
  No one wanted to oppose Redzel heading into the TJ Smith Stakes, and the big push looked a good thing as The Everest winner pulled away from the field. It wasn’t to be however, as Trapeze Artist leveled up and eventually flashed past the star sprinter to record a memorable victory.
• 2017: Chautauqua completes the three-peat
  Champion sprinter Chautauqua wowed the world when producing one of the highlight runs of the season. The popular grey was last coming around the turn and looked to be going nowhere, but Tommy Berry found a path through the field and the champion did the rest. It gunned down English over the concluding stages to set up what was truly an amazing last-to-first comeback win. Read report here.
• 2016: Chautauqua goes back-to-back
  Chautauqua went back-to-back in stunning fashion in the 2016 edition of the TJ Smith. Spotting the leaders an enormous margin, Tommy Berry took the grey to the outside and the horse did the rest.
• 2015: Chautauqua records his first TJ Smith Stakes
  In what would become a predictable racing pattern for star runner Chautauqua, the horse settled at the rear of the field, leaving itself a mountain of work to get the job done, but it did exactly that as it ran down Lord Of The Sky in the shadows of the post to win its maiden group one title.
• 2014: Lankan Rupee dominates in the wet
  A rain-soaked Randwick greeted horses for the 2014 Doncaster Mile and Lankan Rupee was a drifting favourite. Jumping at $3.50 the Rupee torched the field from the front to record one of the most dominant wins in the race’s history.

TJ Smith Stakes Past Winners List

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