Sires' barrier draw favours Slipper winner
Nature Strip draws the outside in TJ Smith Stakes
Polarising sprinter Nature Strip will jump from the outside gate in Saturday’s $2.5 million Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick.
Chris Waller’s sprinter was unlucky first-up when bombing the start in the Lightning Stakes before going down narrowly to stablemate Home Affairs.
He was then plain in the Challenge Stakes behind Eduardo but is six from eight when third-up from a spell and has won this race the past two years when at this stage of his prep.
Nature Strip’s traditional rivals Eduardo and Masked Crusader drew barriers three and one respectively while the two three-year-olds in the field, Overpass and Paulele, will start from two and six.
The horse of the autumn has undoubtedly been Shelby Sixtysix, who raced five weeks in a row culminating in an unforgettable Group 1 victory in The Galaxy last time out.
2022 TJ Smith Stakes Field & Barrier Draw
| No. | 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 (NZ) | Michael Moroney | Hugh Bowman | 8 | 56.5kg |
| 9 | OVERPASS | Bjorn Baker | Tim Clark | 2 | 56.5kg |
| 10 | BELLUCI BABE (NZ) | Bjorn Baker | 9 | 56.5kg | |
| 11 | PAULELE | James Cummings | Ms Jamie Kah | 6 | 56.5kg |
