TJ Smith Stakes
TJ Smith Stakes
The Championships Day 1 – Betting Guide
| Date: | Saturday, April 5, 2025 |
| Location: | Royal Randwick Racecourse – Sydney, Australia |
| Prize Money: | $3,000,000 |
| Distance: | 1200m |
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 (2020,2021), Santa Ana Lane (2019) and the queen of the turf Black Caviar (2011).
2025 TJ Smith Stakes betting odds
Odds for the TJ Smith Stakes as of April 4, 2025 – Courtesy of Neds
- Joliestar Win $4.00 Place $1.75
- Briasa Win $5.00 Place $1.95
- Overpass Win $5.50 Place $2.10
- Magic Time Win $8.00 Place $2.70
- Jimmysstar Win $8.50 Place $2.80
- Sunshine In Paris Win $9.00 Place $2.90
- Switzerland Win $14.00 Place $3.90
- Headwall Win $19.00 Place $4.80
- Kimochi Win $27.00 Place $6.50
- Traffic Warden Win $27.00 Place $6.50
- I Am Me Win $35.00 Place $7.50
- Jedibeel Win $41.00 Place $8.50
- Shezanalister Win $81.00 Place $14.00
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
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Latest TJ Smith News
Team Hawkes and Tyler Schiller have combined with Briasa ($6.50) to claim the Group 1 T.J. Smith Stakes (1200m) at ...
Watch all the race replays, results and dividends from Day 1 of The Championships at Randwick, including the Doncaster Mile, ...
Check out HorseBetting's free race-by-race preview for Day 1 of The Championships scheduled for Royal Randwick on Saturday, April 5, ...
Sunshine In Paris aims for a third Group 1 win in the TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick, with trainer Rob ...
The sprinters will scorch the turf at Randwick on Saturday afternoon, with a field of 13 set to line up ...
Joliestar has made a blistering return to work for Chris Waller, cruising to victory in the opening 900m barrier trial ...
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. Six of the last 11 winners of the TJ Smith Stakes have jumped as clear cut favourites.
Alongside that, only three horses in the race’s history have won the race more than once. Superstar sprinter Black Caviar (2011, 2013), Chautauqua (2015, 2016 & 2017) and Nature Strip (2020, 2021 & 2022) are the only multiple winners of the TJ Smith Stakes.
2025 TJ Smith Stakes Final Field
1. Overpass (2)
- T: Bjorn Baker
- J: Joshua Parr
- W: 58.5kg
- Age: 6YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Vancouver
- Dam: Walkway
2. Jimmysstar (9)
- T: Ciaron Maher
- J: Ethan Brown
- W: 58.5kg
- Age: 5YO
- Colour: Chestnut
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Per Incanto (USA)
- Dam: Anniesstar (NZ)
3. Jedibeel (8)
- T: Brad Widdup
- J: Craig Williams
- W: 58.5kg
- Age: 5YO
- Colour: Bay or Brown
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Savabeel
- Dam: Starry (NZ)
4. Headwall (7)
- T: Matthew Smith
- J: Zac Lloyd
- W: 58.5kg
- Age: 5YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Dream Ahead (USA)
- Dam: Positive Quest
5. Briasa (3)
- T: Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes
- J: Tyler Schiller
- W: 58.5kg
- Age: 4YO
- Colour: Grey-bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Smart Missile
- Dam: Mary’s Grace
6. Sunshine In Paris (11)
- T: Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald
- J: Chad Schofield
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 5YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Invader
- Dam: Zenaida (NZ)
7. Joliestar (4)
- T: Chris Waller
- J: Damian Lane
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 4YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Zoustar
- Dam: Jolie Bay
8. Magic Time (1)
- T: Grahame Begg
- J: Jordan Childs
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 5YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Hellbent
- Dam: Time Awaits
9. I Am Me (6)
- T: Ciaron Maher
- J: Tim Clark
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 6YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: I Am Invincible
- Dam: Mefnooda
10. Kimochi (13)
- T: Gary Portelli
- J: Nash Rawiller
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 4YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Brave Smash (JPN)
- Dam: Summer Fun
11. Switzerland (5)
- T: Chris Waller
- J: Ryan Moore
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 3YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Colt
- Sire: Snitzel
- Dam: Ms Bad Behavior (CAN)
12. Traffic Warden (12)
- T: James Cummings
- J: Blake Shinn
- W: 56.5kg
- Age: 3YO
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Colt
- Sire: Street Boss (USA)
- Dam: Efficiently
Previous TJ Smith Stakes Fields
1. I Wish I Win (4)
- T: Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman
- J: James McDonald
- W: 58.5kg
- F: x23x1
- Age: 5YO
- Color: Black
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Savabeel
- Dam: Make A Wish (NZ)
2. Private Eye (14)
- T: Joseph Pride
- J: Blake Shinn
- W: 58.5kg
- F: 062×2
- Age: 6YO
- Color: Brown
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Al Maher
- Dam: Confidential Queen
3. Mazu (12)
- T: Joseph Pride
- J: Tim Clark
- W: 58.5kg
- F: 5×450
- Age: 5YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Maurice (JPN)
- Dam: Chatelaine
4. Coal Crusher (10)
- T: Joseph Pride
- J: Tyler Schiller
- W: 58.5kg
- F: 5452x
- Age: 6YO
- Color: Chestnut
- Sex: Gelding
- Sire: Turffontein
- Dam: Media Academy
5. Aft Cabin (8)
- T: James Cummings
- J: Zac Purton
- W: 58.5kg
- F: 03×94
- Age: 4YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Horse
- Sire: Astern
- Dam: Shelters
6. Buenos Noches (15)
- T: Matthew Smith
- J: Ben Melham
- W: 58.5kg
- F: 094×2
- Age: 4YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Horse
- Sire: Supido
- Dam: Koi
7. Johnny Rocker (3)
- T: Nick Ryan
- J: Mark Zahra
- W: 58.5kg
- F: 2172x
- Age: 4YO
- Color: Chestnut
- Sex: Horse
- Sire: Jukebox
- Dam: Margene
8. Imperatriz (6)
- T: Mark Walker
- J: Opie Bosson
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 121×1
- Age: 5YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: I Am Invincible
- Dam: Berimbau
9. Bella Nipotina (11)
- T: Ciaron Maher
- J: Craig Williams
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 454×5
- Age: 6YO
- Color: Chestnut
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Pride of Dubai
- Dam: Bella Orfana
10. Espiona (13)
- T: Chris Waller
- J: Nash Rawiller
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 33×41
- Age: 5YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Extreme Choice
- Dam: Dahooil (NZ)
11. Sunshine In Paris (7)
- T: Annabel Neasham
- J: Jason Collett
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 2x1x1
- Age: 4YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Invader
- Dam: Zenaida (NZ)
12. Cylinder (7)
- T: James Cummings
- J: Jamie Kah
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 016×0
- Age: 3YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Colt
- Sire: Exceed And Excel
- Dam: Circular
13. Magic Time (1)
- T: Grahame Begg
- J: Michael Dee
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 6×131
- Age: 4YO
- Color: Bay
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Hellbent
- Dam: Time Awaits
14. Chain Of Lightning (2)
- T: Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman
- J: Damian Lane
- W: 56.5kg
- F: 10×07
- Age: 5YO
- Color: Grey
- Sex: Mare
- Sire: Fighting Sun
- Dam: Magic Art
No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Nature Strip Chris Waller James McDonald 7 58.5kg 2 Lost And Running John O’Shea Hugh Bowman 15 58.5kg 3 Private Eye Joseph Pride Brenton Avdulla 2 58.5kg 4 Mazu Peter & Paul Snowden Sam Clipperton 1 58.5kg 5 PauleleJames CummingsJoao Moreira358.5kg6 I Wish I Win Peter Moody Luke Nolen 14 58.5kg 7 OverpassBjorn BakerJoshua Parr458.5kg8 Rocketing By David Pfieffer Kerrin McEvoy 8 58.5kg 9 Shelby Sixtysix Danny Williams Tim Clark 5 58.5kg 10 Giga Kick Clayton Douglas Zac Purton 9 56.5kg 11 Lofty Strike Julius Sandhu Craig Newitt 10 56.5kg 12 Mariamia Joseph Pride Tyler Schiller 13 56.5kg 13 Passive Aggressive Grahame Begg Jordan Childs 6 56.5kg 14 Shades Of Rose Bjorn Baker Rachel King 11 56.5kg 15 In Secret James Cummings Ben Melham 12 54.5kg No. Silks Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight 1 Nature Strip Chris Waller James McDonald 11 58.5kg 2 Eduardo Joseph Pride Nash Rawiller 3 58.5kg 3 Masked Crusader Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes William Pike 1 58.5kg 4 Zoutori Mathew Ellerton Damian Lane 7 58.5kg 5 Count De Rupee Robert & Luke Price Brock Ryan 4 58.5kg 6 Shelby Sixtysix Danny Williams Tommy Berry 10 58.5kg 7 Rule Of Law Bjorn Baker Brenton Avdulla 5 58.5kg 8 Roch ‘N’ Horse Mike Moroney Hugh Bowman 8 56.5kg 9 Overpass Bjorn Baker Tim Clark 2 56.5kg 10 Belluci Babe Bjorn Baker Joshua Parr 9 56.5kg 11 Paulele James Cummings Jamie Kah 6 56.5kg
2024 TJ Smith Stakes result
1st – Chain Of Lightning (+2000)
2nd – Bella Nipotina (+245)
3rd – I Wish I Win (-166.67)
Recent TJ Smith winners
- The Group 1 T J Smith Stakes (1200m) had been touted by many as a match race between Imperatriz ($3.40) and I Wish I Win ($4.20), however, it was Chain Of Lightning ($23.00) getting the better of both to claim her first Group 1 victory. She had put the writing on the wall second-up into the preparation, making a mess of her rivals in the Group 3 Birthday Card Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on March 23, suggesting the Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman-trained mare has gone to another level this time in. She was given every conceivable chance thanks to a terrific rail hugging ride by Damien Lane, making the worthwhile trip north of Victoria as the five-year-old avoided many of the traffic issues some of her key rivals faced. It was a blanket go in the concluding stages as Imperatriz, I Wish I Win, Bella Nipotina ($11.00), Magic Time ($11.00) and Espiona ($18.00) jostled for positions and were all chomping at the heels of the leader, however, Chain Of Lightning never shirked the task, holding off some classy sprinters to the claim the T J Smith Stakes.
- From last to first. I Wish I Win produced a powerful turn-of-foot to claim his first-ever Group 1 win in the TJ Smith Stakes. It’s had been an expertly planned out preparation by trainer Peter Moody, who elected to keep him back to the sprinting trips, rather than look for middle-distance targets such as the All-Star Mile. Paying dividends for the connections with their share of the $3,000,000 in prizemoney heading their way to go along with Group 1 glory. Jockey Luke Nolen had no choice but to go back from the wide draw and on a day where it’s been difficult to make up inroads from the rear of the field, I Wish I Win defied any perceived bias by thundering down the middle of the Royal Randwick circuit. It was a race that changed complexion turning for home as Nature Strip kicked clear in search of his fourth TJ Smith Stakes in a row, before drifting commodity Giga Kick made his way to the lead with 100m to go. It was all for the placings however, as I Wish I Win proved too good for his rivals on the day.
- The Chris Waller-trained Nature Strip created history when becoming just the second sprinter alongside Chautauqua to claim three straight TJ Smith Stakes victory. Despite drawing out wide, James McDonald use the first 300m to have Nature Strip amble across to the front of the field where he managed to head market rival Eduardo and control the speed throughout. When asked for an effort from JMac, the Strip put three lengths on Eduardo back in second and in doing so, Nature Strip etched his name further into Australian racing folklore.
- Straight from the start, Nature Strip found himself sitting behind Joe Pride’s Eduardo who took off bolting in a fast start. The positions barely changed throughout the race until the final stretch where Eduardo tried to break from the pack but Nature Strip was ready to go with him setting up for an exciting finish. The race was decided before the posts when Eduardo gassed out and Nature Strip still had a bunch left in the tank to give passing the rival and clearing the group by two lengths to win.
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
| TJ Smith Stakes Past Winners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer |
| 2024 | Chain Of Lightning | Damian Lane | Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman |
| 2023 | I Wish I Win | Luke Nolen | Peter Moody |
| 2022 | Nature Strip | James McDonald | Chris Waller |
| 2021 | Nature Strip | James McDonald | Chris Waller |
| 2020 | Nature Strip | James McDonald | Chris Waller |
| 2019 | Santa Ana Lane | Mark Zahra | Anthony Freedman |
| 2018 | Trapeze Artist | Tye Angland | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou |
| 2017 | Chautauqua | Tommy Berry | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes |
| 2016 | Chautauqua | Tommy Berry | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes |
| 2015 | Chautauqua | Tommy Berry | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes |
| 2014 | Lankan Rupee | Craig Newitt | Mick Price |
| 2013 | Black Caviar | Luke Nolen | Peter Moody |
| 2012 | Master Of Design | Craig Williams | David Payne |
| 2011 | Black Caviar | Luke Nolen | Peter Moody |
| 2010 | Melito | Blake Shinn | Gerald Ryan & Sterling Alexiou |
| 2009 | Takeover Target | Nash Rawiller | Joe Janiak |
| 2008 | Apache Cat | Corey Brown | Greg Eurell |
| 2007 | Bentley Biscuit | Nash Rawiller | Gai Waterhouse |
| 2006 | Red Oog | Hugh Bowman | Joseph Pride |
| 2005 | Shamekha | Darren Beadman | Gai Waterhouse |
| 2004 | Dilly Dally | Kerrin McEvoy | Leon Macdonald |
| 2003 | Spinning Hill | Danny Beasley | Guy Walter |
| 2002 | Phoenix Park | Brian York | Gai Waterhouse |
| 2001 | Century Kid | Lenny Beasley | Graeme Rogerson |
| 2000 | Shy Hero | Jackson Morris | Patrick Webster |
| 1999 | Ab Initio | Larry Cassidy | John Hawkes |
| 1998 | La Baraka | Kevin Moses | Patrick Hayes |
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