Racing: Willy Smith declines to follow in dad's shoes

Don't go getting hung up on the fact New Zealand St Leger favourite Willy Smith is by a noted sprinting sire.

Most stock of Volksraad may be more at home over 1200 to 1600m.

But luckily for punters this is one four-year-old son who has no time for pedigree history at Trentham tomorrow.

If you ask his new trainer Mark Todd the four-year-old son of a Sound Reason mare is a natural-born stayer.

"He's definitely thrown more to the Sound Reason side," said Todd, who took over the horse from former trainer Richard Dee at the start of the season.

"He's beautifully relaxed, lobs along anywhere in the field, goes when you ask and takes nothing out of himself."

Dee had Willy Smith tagged as a New Zealand Derby hope last season, but he was still too weak to measure up.

This season, however, Willy Smith has come back a different horse.

Todd has won four races with the four-year-old from just seven starts, including an impressive R94 St Leger trial over 2400m at Trentham on January 28.

He admits the Starcraft New Zealand Stakes (2000m) at weight-for-age last Saturday was an afterthought.

Willy Smith had simply done so well after his Otaki win over 2100m on February 25 he needed another run to top off his St Leger preparation.

"I still think he was very unlucky at Ellerslie not to run a place," said Todd.

"Just as he was making his run he was knocked off his feet."

Rider Mark Hills managed to get the long-strider going again under his 57kg to finish just four lengths adrift of Kristov in ninth.

If Willy Smith backs up tomorrow like Todd expects, he'll seal a run in the A$200,000 Chairman's Handicap (2600m) at Randwick on April 15.

St Leger rival Young Centaur, one of just two three-year-olds in the race, gets a 5.5kg weight advantage over Willy Smith tomorrow.

But trainer John Sargent believes that's his best hope of an upset.

"He's a lovely big type who doesn't know when to lie down, but he's going to be a much nicer horse this time next year," said Sargent.