Sand 'N' Power searching for third straight win

By Glenn Davis

It only takes one horse to put a trainer back in the spotlight and Townsville’s Gareth Smith hopes he has found his.

Former Gold Coast galloper Sand ‘N‘ Power is his name and Smith is hopeful the four-year-old can complete a hat-trick of wins when he steps out on his home track at Cluden Park on Tuesday.

The son of Better Than Ready has only been in Smith’s care since July and is chasing his third win in six starts in the Benchmark 65 Handicap over 1609 metres.

Sand ‘N’ Power has only had one start over the journey where he finished fourth to the Matthew McGuire-trained Mission House in a 1609 metre Benchmark race at Townsville in early September.

Since then, Sand ‘N‘ Power dropped back in distance to 1470 metres for a commanding Class 2 Handicap win at Bowen on September 16 before a decisive three length win last start in a 1500 metre Class 3 Handicap at Cairns on October 12.

Smith has used a variety of jockeys on Sand ‘N‘ Power and has booked last start rider Micheal McDonald to continue his association.

“This is a quick back-up for him but hopefully we can learn a lot from it,” Smith said.

“Hopefully we can pick a few more races with him before he goes out for a spell and get his rating up for some of the country Cups races next campaign.

“He should have no problem running 1600 metres as he’s bred to get 2000 metres.” 

Smith is a hobby trainer and has four horses in work while he works in the coalmines in the Bowen Basin.

He has been training for around 17 years and hailed from Cloncurry in the state’s North West before he returned to train in Townsville in 2023.

Among his best wins was a Mount Isa Cup in 2009 before taking a break from training for eight years.

Although he wasn’t training back then he was actively involved as an owner and helped his father, trainer David Smith, around the stables.

He started his “new” training career with a bang with former useful sprinter Le Vizir who was owned by the Jorgensen clan in Cairns.

Smith has trained three winners from his past eight starters and it was a win from Lethally Stella at Richmond in the middle of August which broke a two-year drought.

He paid $17,000 for Sand ‘N‘ Power who only managed a maiden win at Lismore in February before eventually being put on the market.

“Bev Laming trained him and his son Richard brought him up for the Rockhampton carnival when he decided to leave him there and sold him,” Smith said.