Sand 'N' Power on trial for Cups

By Glenn Davis

Townsville hobby trainer Gareth Smith will let his promising Sand ‘N’ Power decide his own path for the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival after the gelding starts at Townsville on Tuesday.

Sand ‘N’ Power - an Ivo Fry mount - heads into his second start this campaign in the Benchmark 70 Handicap.

Smith believes the four-year-old will prove a better proposition over longer but still expects a strong showing over the 1200 metre trip.

“The only reason he’s going into this race is so I can try to get his rating up to around 80,” Smith said.

“He’s only a 70 rater at the moment and he needs to get his rating up to get into some of the better Cup races in the winter.

“I don’t think he’s really a 1200 metre horse and he may be a Cup horse as he’s bred on his mother’s side to get a distance.”

Smith was more than pleased when Sand ‘N’ Power finished second to the Tom Button-trained Russian Mint in a 1200 metre Benchmark race at Townsville on March 31.

“I was very happy with his run when he finished second to Russian Mint who won the Townsville Lightning last year,” he said.

“He went into that race first-up with no barrier trials.”

Smith believes a Cup race during the Northern Queensland Winter Racing Carnival is well within his scope.

“I think he’s a really good horse and I’m hoping he can make it to one of the bigger races this winter,” he said.

“I might aim him for the Winter Cup at Townsville in July which is the traditional lead-up to the Townsville Cup or we may take him to Mackay and get him into the Townsville Cup that way.”

Sand ‘N’ Power was originally trained by Bevan Laming at the Gold Coast before Smith bought him for $15,000 after he won a maiden at Lismore in February of last year.

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

Since entering Smith’s stables, Sand ‘N’ Power has been a good horse, starting eight times for three wins and two placings.

Smith has only a handful of horses in training while he works in the coal mines in the Bowen Basin.

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

In 2026, Smith has saddled only 10 starters and has won once with Mr Sugar Daddy in a maiden at Townsville last month.