When did you start your career as a racehorse trainer?

I started in 1986.

Which horse was your first winner?

I will never forget Bourbon Street.

Which horse was your longest odds winner?

My longest odds winner was Exchange Only and the first winner for Andron Findlay at odds of 99-1 over the 1,000 metres straight course.

Which is the best horse you have have trained?

That would be Outstanding. She was really a genuine filly and came quite close to winning the Caribbean Sprint the year that Ahwhofah won it in a close finish. She was really a good horse. Outstanding was my first stakes winner. She had a career and then went out to be bred. She, however, came back to the track with heavy joints. She was then pin fired and I methodically brought her back to her racing self then took her up to ‘A’ class. Let me not forget that there have been also other good horses that I have trained on the colts’ side there is Aventura who is still racing and the mare Antioch who is now in the breeding shed. Antioch before going off to the stud farm was a very good racer and Aventura won the Lotto Classic for the Governor’s Cup but was later disqualified in the Stewards’ Room. Aventura is a dark, bay gelding with a big heart who is very game and a great fighter.

Which is the best horse you ever seen race at Caymanas Park?

The best horse I have ever seen, that is a toss-up. I will say Legal light. He was a genuine runner, a very versatile animal. I have also seen other excellent runners such as Eros, Miracle Man just to name a few of the champion racers that I have seen but Legal light to me was special.

Who has influenced your career the most?

I was influenced most by father G Ashley Smith who was also a trainer while I was growing up. He was the one who helped me to hone my skills in the early days. Trainer Enos Brown also played a large part in my development.

My dad being a trainer of horses piqued my interest in the sport which took root from early. I would come to the track with him and over the years my interest and knowledge of tending horses grew to the point that I decided that I wanted to make training horses a career. Over time, I have been getting better at the job but what is evident is that it is always a learning process. So much so when there are challenges at the track there are a number of persons to whom I turn including Dr Ashton Marsh and Trainer Everal Francis and Brown.