TJ Smith Stakes 2025 Tips, Field & Race Guide

The Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes will take place on Saturday, April 05, 2025 at Royal Randwick.

Offering prize money of $2.5 million, the sprint race is open to all ages and is run at weight-for-age conditions.

We provide you with TJ Smith Stakes tips as well as an in depth guide into the runners, horses, final field, barrier draw, news, betting odds and information, and how you can watch a live stream to watch the race unfold.

CONTENTS: Schedule | Live Stream | Bonus Bets | Tips | Nominations | Field & Barrier Draw | Results & Replays | Odds | History | Winners | Top 5 Winners

TJ Smith Stakes 2025 Schedule

Date April 05
Track  Royal Randwick
Distance 1200m
Class Group 1
Race Type Weight-for-age
Prizemoney $2.5 million
Age No age restrictions

TJ Smith Stakes Tips

The TJ Smith Stakes is the richest Group 1 race in Australia and therefore attracts the best sprinters in the land.

Early April weather is unpredictable in Sydney and the TJ Smith Stakes could be run on anything from a Good 3 track to a rain-affected Heavy 10.

Our experts assess all the TJ Smith Stakes horses, their form, barrier draws, speedmap and more to help come up with our betting pointers and 2025 tips to help you back the winner.

Our expert tipsters will provide 2025 TJ Smith Stakes tips once the field has been finalised.

 

TJ SMITH STAKES BETTING PROMOS

TJ Smith Stakes Nominations

The nominations for the 2025 TJ Smith Stakes will take place at 9am on February 11, 2025.

TJ Smith Stakes Field & Barrier Draw

The final field and barrier draw for the 2025 TJ Smith Stakes will be released at 8:00am April 01, 2025.

This page will be updated following the barrier draw.

Check out the TJ Smith Stakes barrier draw stats and info.

TJ Smith Stakes 2024 Results & Replay

Finish Horse Trainer Jockey Barrier Weight SP
1 CHAIN OF LIGHTNING Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman Damian Lane 2 56.5kg $21
2 BELLA NIPOTINA Ciaron Maher Craig Williams 10 56.5kg $11
3 I WISH I WIN (NZ) Peter G Moody & Katherine Coleman James McDonald 4 58.5kg $4.20
4 IMPERATRIZ Mark Walker Opie Bosson 6 56.5kg $3.50
5 SUNSHINE IN PARIS Annabel Neasham Jason Collett 8 56.5kg $6.50
6 ESPIONA Chris Waller Nash Rawiller 12 56.5kg $17
7 MAGIC TIME Grahame Begg Michael Dee 1 56.5kg $10
8 JOHNNY ROCKER Nick Ryan Mark Zahra 3 58.5kg $31
9 BUENOS NOCHES Matthew Smith Ben Melham 13 58.5kg $31
10 WILLINGA BEAST Kris Lees Dylan Gibbons (a/52kg) 5 56.5kg $201
11 MAZU Joseph Pride Tim Clark 11 58.5kg $21
12 AFT CABIN James Cummings Zac Purton 7 58.5kg $16
13 COAL CRUSHER Joseph Pride Tyler Schiller 9 58.5kg $31

 

 

See more TJ Smith Stakes results & replays here.

TJ Smith Stakes Odds

Leading bookmakers Sportsbet, Ladbrokes, Neds, bet365 & Palmerbet have the latest 2025 TJ Smith Stakes betting odds available. There will be plenty of movements in the TJ Smith Stakes betting markets in the days leading up to the race. See the latest market below or click on the links to take you direct to the bookmakers.

TJ SMITH STAKES HISTORY

An open weight-for-age sprint that takes place on Day 1 of The Championships, the TJ Smith Stakes is one of four Group 1 features on the day.

Headlined by the $3 million Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m), the TJ Smith Stakes showcases some of the world’s best sprinters on a day which also hosts the $2 million Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m) and the $1 million Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes (1400m).

Mahogany won the inaugural TJ Smith Stakes in 1997 when the race was known as the Listed Endeavour Stakes.

In 1999 the race was renamed the TJ Smith Stakes in honour of Thomas John Smith (Tommy Smith) who won 33 trainers premierships.

Smith’s daughter, Gai Waterhouse, has captured the feature sprint on three occasions – Phoenix Park (2002), Shamekha (2005) and Bentley Biscuit (2007).

With $2.5 million in prizemoney the TJ Smith Stakes is fast becoming one of the most highly-regarded races on the Australian racing calendar.

Form students will be looking at three separate Group 1 features leading up to the TJ Smith Stakes as the most reliable guide when assessing a runner’s chances on Day 1 of The Championships.

The Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) held at Flemington three weeks earlier, the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) held at Rosehill Gardens two weeks earlier and the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) held at Mooney Valley eight days earlier have been the best lead-up indicators into the TJ Smith Stakes.

Unbeaten champion Black Caviar won the William Reid on both occasions prior to winning both of her TJ Smith Stakes.

She won the race in 2011 and 2013 and is the headline name to have won the race.

Other notable winners of the TJ Smith Stakes include Mahogany (1997), La Baraka (1998), Phoenix Park (2002), Spinning Hill (2003), Shamekha (2005), Apache Cat (2008), Takeover Target (2009) and Lankan Rupee (2014).

Winners of the TJ Smith Stakes have recently gone on to win the Group 1 All Aged Stakes (1400m) held on the final day of the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

The Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes-trained Chautauqua claimed the event in 2015 before returning with an even more emphatic victory the following year as he swept down the outside, having raced in last position for the first 800m of the race. It was a carbon-copy in 2017 with Chautauqua once again last in the field of 15 at both the 800m and 400m marks as he made it a hat-trick of wins in the TJ Smith Stakes. Jockey Tommy Berry rode the grey-bay sprinter on all three occasions.

TJ SMITH STAKES Winners (Since 2000)

2024 Chain Of Lightning
2023 I Wish I Win
2022 Nature Strip
2021 Nature Strip
2020 Nature Strip
2019 Santa Ana Lane
2018 Trapeze Artist
2017 Chautauqua
2016 Chautauqua
2015 Chautauqua
2014 Lankan Rupee
2013 Black Caviar
2012 Master Of Design
2011 Black Caviar
2010 Melito
2009 Takeover Target
2008 Apache Cat
2007 Bentley Biscuit
2006 Red Oog
2005 Shamekha
2004 Dilly Dally
2003 Spinning Hill
2002 Phoenix Park
2001 Century Kid
2000 Shy Hero

TOP 5 TJ Smith Stakes Winners

See our Top 5 TJ Smith Stakes Winners.

TJ Smith Stakes Live Stream

TAB customers are able to live stream the 2025 TJ Smith Stakes free of charge courtesy of Sky Racing vision.

You can watch the action from your mobile device or desktop for every Australian thoroughbred, greyhound and harness race live.

TAB offers Sky Racing 1, Sky Racing 2 and Sky Thoroughbred Central on their racing live streaming service.

T&Cs Apply. Vision available for all three Sky Racing channels. Data charges may apply.

Watch the 2025 TJ Smith Stakes with TAB:

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