Matthew Smith: In-form trainer with a pedigree for success at Galway

Ask about the pinnacle of this training career to date, and he has no hesitation.

Galway 2019, .

Still One Cool Poet.

It’s not surprising though.  When you have achieved something that had been achieved just once before and which hasn’t been achieved since, it’s probable that it’s going to be at the top of your list for a while.

There are Galway specialists, horses who love the place, horses who take to the unique contours of the 10-furlong circuit, tight but stiff, undulating, turning, where you need pace to hold a position and stamina to get up the final incline.  There are horses who win there regularly, Galway Festival horses, horses who run there more than once during festival week, horses who win there more than once during festival week.

Before 2019 though, only one horse had won three times in one week at the Galway Festival, Busted Tycoon in 2013, and she won two two-mile handicaps on the Flat, then rounded off her week by winning a mares’ handicap hurdle.  And before 2019, no horse had ever won there three times on the flat during week.

The One Cool Poet story is well told at this stage.  Balloted out of a handicap hurdle on the Monday at Galway, the first day, he ran instead in a one-mile handicap on the Flat on Tuesday, delivered late by Billy Lee to get up and win by a neck. 

The celebrations at Galway rolled on long into Tuesday night, but they went on without the trainer, who drove home with One Cool Poet.  The plan was to run again in a handicap on the Saturday, but it looked like the Urban Poet gelding wasn’t going to get into Saturday’s race, so they decided that, if he was well, they would allow him take his chance on Thursday.  So they did and, under a 6lb penalty and stepped up in trip to a mile and a half, he won again.

You know how this one ends.  One Cool Poet did get into Saturday’s race, number 17 on the ballot but he sneaked in at the bottom and, under his 12lb penalty, he won once more.

“It was an unbelievable week,” says the trainer now.  “People still say it to me.  It’s so hard to have a winner at Galway, so for one horse to go and win there three times during the week, it was unreal.  It was great for us too.  The phone started to ring a little bit after that, owners asking us to train a horse for them.”

Matthew Smith has his horses in fine form these days.  He went to Bellewstown last Friday with three horses, two of them won and the other, Bigz Belief, finished third.

“We were hopeful enough going there on the evening,” says the trainer.  “You can never be confident, but we knew that the horses were in good form.”

Blackcastle Storm

had put up a fine performance to finish second in a big-field handicap at The Curragh on Irish Derby weekend, and he was racing at Bellewstown off just a 3lb higher mark.

“We did try him over hurdles, but it just wasn’t for him.  So we went back on the flat at Leopardstown, and he ran a cracker at The Curragh.  I was delighted with the attitude that he showed.  It was a good tussle between him and Tom Gibney’s horse (Imposing Supreme), but he battled on well for Chris (Hayes), and the two of them finished a little bit ahead of the others.”

Chris Hayes was on Eruption too 70 minutes later when she won the five-furlong handicap.  She was drawn wide, out in stall 13, but she showed good speed early on, which allowed her adopt a prominent position before they reached the elbow, just up on the outside of the leader Comein Comein.  

After that, it was a duel between the two of them, it was a case of whether or not Matthew Smith’s mare could get the better of Diego Diaz’s horse and, in the end, she could.  She got home by a half a length with the first two clear.

“That was great,” says Matthew.  “A double on the day.  I always thought that she was getting there, and Chris said the same.  It was probably a nice performance, off top weight.  She has been in great form all summer.  It’s just a case of keeping her sweet.”

Two days later,

La Hacienda

won over hurdles at Sligo.  Last year’s Northumberland Vase winner, the Free Eagle mare did it nicely.  Ridden by Matthew’s son James, she was always in control, she went to the front on the run to the second last flight, and she kept on well from there, leaving the impression that she had even more in hand than the near-10-length winning margin.

“We expected her to go well all right,” says the trainer.  “To be honest, if she hadn’t gone close, it would have been a bit of a head-scratcher.  James said that she wasn’t doing a stroke when she got to the front.  She should do even better in a better race.”

Those wins mean just a little bit more when your son is on board.

“It’s great to have James around now all the time.  He’s a big asset to me here.  You forget how young he is, he’s only 18, but he has been riding work here since he was 12.  I don’t give him instructions really, he knows the horses well, and if he gets something wrong one day, you can be sure that he’ll get it right the next day.”

The Galway team is taking shape.

“I was looking at the 0-109 handicap hurdle for La Hacienda, but she only went up to a mark of 102 for Friday’s win.  She might struggle to get into the race.  She’ll take her chance if she does.  Blackcastle Storm will be going all right, all going well, and Napper Tandy and Boadicea Belle and Another Choice.”

Moonovercloon will also be back for more.

“He was a little bit unlucky not to finish closer in a handicap hurdle there last year,” says Matthew.  “He will have options over hurdles and fences.  It’s always competitive at Galway obviously, but we’ve been lucky enough to do okay there over the last few years, and hopefully we can do okay there again this year.”