The name Smith is everywhere – even on the Fairview Poly

Gavin Smith is destined to be the trainer who’ll dominate on the Fairview Polytrack on Friday.

It’s much quicker to name his runners that have little chance of winning than to pick out those ones could see arriving in the winner’s circle. Surfer Babe in Race 1 heads the no-hoper list (now watch that win!), with Dipladenia in Race 7 another that has little appeal (oops).

Speaking of the first race, a Maiden Juvenile for fillies, Smith might not expect Surfer Babe to cause an upset, but he will expect his other runner, Lemon Pepper, to justify short odds.

This daughter of Louis The King has two-thirds and a second to show for her three appearances – form that eclipses all others in the race. There is no reason to suspect she won’t like the Poly, which she tackles for the first time, while an inclination to be a tad ornery might be cured by the introduction of blinkers.

Champion jockey-in-waiting Lyle Hewitson has the job of executing the winning plan and should manage it comfortably from the inside draw at the 1000m pole on the right-hand turn.

Smith’s next best prospect on the day is Highway Star in the fourth, a Maiden Plate over 2200m.

This son of Querari has had 12 shots at getting off the mark and students of form tend to shy away from such a record. But stayers can take a little longer to come to hand than their fast-muscle-twitch counterparts and this guy seems to have got himself into peak shape, with two runner-up efforts in his last two starts.

In the next race, Ancient Times and Hewitson will bid to deliver a hat-trick to Smith and owner Mr VC Veramootoo. The first two instalments of the piece were achieved with considerable ease on the same track and 1900m trip and everything points to a neat triple.

Smith has a tougher job in Race 6, in which he saddles Mojito Magic and Pluviophile in a competitive MR68 Handicap over 1000m. Both are likely to be involved in the shakeout but must contend with several lurkers – such as Microbe, Angel Bouquet, Elegant General and Tevye.

Magic Blaze could be another Smith notch in Race 7, while Abia and Storyland have claims in the eighth.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

6 Lemon Pepper, 5 Ladonna Mia, 8 Take Control, 4 Fillipina

Race 2:

4 Grace Lightning, 8 Sugar Snap, 1 Bobbety Boo, 3 Giustina

Race 3:

3 Purple Frontier, 1 Cleto, 2 Hikaru, 4 Royal Shindig

Race 4:

1 Highway Star, 8 Wild Earth, 7 Offsides, 3 Hukum

Race 5:

2 Ancient Times, 7 Super Noir, 3 Upper Ten, 5 Meercat

Race 6:

2 Mojito Magic, 6 Angel Bouquet, 7 Elegant General, 4 Pluviophile

Race 7:

1 Blingking, 8 Opera Swing, 6 Magic Blaze, 3 Mousey On Over

Race 8:

10 At Your Request, 11 Abia, 5 Madam Seville, 2 Forward March

Pick 6:

1,2,3 x 1 x 2,3,7 x 2,4,6,7,8 x 1,6,8 x 2,3,5,6,10,11 (R810)

PA:

1,4,8 x 1,3 x 1 x 2 x 3,6,7 x 1,8 x 5,10,11 (R108)