The 715 Next Stop For Association Cup Winner
SOUTH Australian trainer Damien Smith took his wife and three children to Sydney’s aquarium at Darling Harbour on Sunday as reward.
DAMIEN Smith took his wife and three children to Sydney's aquarium at Darling Harbour on Sunday as a reward.
It was their wish to take in the sights of Sydney before heading back on the long trip to Murray Bridge in South Australia.
But, first Lauren and the kids, Stefan, 9, and twins Bentley and Allegra, 5, cheered home their dad's racetrack star Apilla which swept to victory in Saturday night's Group 1 Association Cup (720m).
The daughter of My Redeemer and Rosie Red was sensational, bursting to the front not long after the start and then holding off a challenge from WA star Max Capacity in 41.97.
Damien brought his family with him to Sydney and admitted today it was all a "bit stressful".
"I'd pull over to let Kendall (Apilla's kennel name) out for a pee, get back going on the road, and 10 minutes later one of the kids would need to do the same," Damien said.
Apilla, bred and raced by SA racing legends Cameron and Yvonne Butcher, took her record to 30 starts for 12 wins, 13 placings and earnings of $133,000.
Damien, who landed a double on the card with Time To Fire saluting in the last, already has plans to bring her back to NSW for the upcoming The 715 at The Gardens, the heats of which will be run on Thursday, April 24.
"All this has been a learning curve for her," Smith added. "To see how she handled the travelling. The 715 was always her target.”
He predicted Apilla could continue to improve given “she is just learning her craft”.
Because Lauren and the kids came along for the trip to Sydney to savour Group 1 success, Damien had to leave his dad Ross and Terry Daley at home.
Apilla is a tribute to the Butchers back in South Australia.
"They had sent most of their dogs to the Rasmussens and had even started pulling down kennels," Smith said.
"But when the Rasmussen strife happened, all of a sudden Cameron and Yvonne had 40 dogs thrown back onto their doorstep."
Damien is a builder who tells all his clients he can work only five hours a day because he has “dogs to do" in the mornings and at night.
"The clients are understanding," he said.
Damien and his dad Ross have tasted great success before, with Tomic, a son of Collision-Zetta Bale winner of the G3 Breeders Plate way back in 2010.
He said wife Lauren was "over the moon": with the victory in the Association Cup.
"Probably more than me," he said. "I was pretty nervous last week, but for the final I was much calmer.
"But, by the end of the night the kids were zombies." A Sunday trip to the aquarium would settle that.
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