Gavin Smith is hoping his patience pays off at
On days like that Great Things Happen looks the equal of any trotter in Australasia outside of Monbet but when he resumes as a seven-year-old at Addington tonight it will be just his 32nd start.
Which is not what Smith has wanted.
He would relish a 12 to 14-start season, taking on the numerous Group 1 opportunities for the open class trotters. He hopes that finally comes true this season.
Because what Smith has done with stable star Great Things Happen and what he would liked to have done with him are two very different things.
What he has done is craft a short but sometimes spectacular career, punctuated by breathtaking wins in races like last season’s NZ Free-For-All at Addington.
| Best bet: | Great Things Happen (R4, No.6): | Last season’s NZ Free-For-All winner who could be ID18-bound. Too good for these. |
| Star trialist: | Gran Chico (R3, No.4): | Has looked very sharp at the trials and trainer Nigel McGrath can get them to go fresh. |
| Welcome back: | Ana Malak (R7, No.5): | Looked really sharp last season and will make its way toward open class. Has been working well. |
“That would be great, to be able to race him for a full season,” says Smith.
“But it just hasn’t worked out that way. Last season he has a recurring problem with a quarter crack and I thought I could keep patching it up and having half seasons with him or give him the whole six months off and start again.
"So I put the horse first and missed a lot of big races last season. But his feet are now great.”
They have looked that way in recent trials when Great Things Happen has domimated in the style of a fresh up winner in what looks a perfect race tonight.
“He obviously isn’t at his peak and is still pretty round but he should still win,” says Smith. “Then he can have another race and we will give him a short break, get ready for Cup week and start thinking about things like the Inter Dominion and all the big races later in the season. But it is great to have a horse like him back.”