The Trainer: Suzy Smith

The following biography is an edited version of the tribute written by Neil Clark in the Racing and Football Outlook Jumps Guide 2007-2008 and is reproduced with the kind permission of their editor, Nick Watts.

Suzy Smith has only been training five years, but in that time the 30 year old Sussex handler has won almost a quarter of a million pounds worth of prize money for her owners.

Horses under her care have won races such as the Sussex National at Plumpton, the Blue Square Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton, a Mares listed race and a Pertemps Qualifier at Cheltenham, and in March 2007 came agonisingly close to a first Cheltenham Festival winner when Material World was just half a length short of landing the Pertemps Hurdle Final.

Suzy trains at the old Lewes racecourse, about eight miles from Brighton. "The racecourse, with its commodious stand is justly regarded as one of the finest in England" recorded The History and Antiquities of Lewes in 1824, but sadly the historic course, where the legendary Fred Archer rode his final races closed its doors to the public in September 1964.

For Suzy the benefits of training at a disused racecourse are immense. "Our horses don’t go to the races really green as training them here is like giving them a racecourse gallop! We have a two mile grass gallop on the old racecourse, so we can work several horses upsides each other. We also have a one mile uphill All-Weather gallop, without which we couldn’t operate properly as we’re on chalk here and the ground gets very firm in the summer."

Suzy operates two yards: in addition to her main County Stables yard, she also runs a satellite yard at nearby Offham, between Lewes and Plumpton. "We can still access our gallops from there and it’s also used as an isolation yard if we have horses from Ireland."

Unlike some of her fellow trainers, Suzy does not come from a racing background. "A couple of relatives owned point-to-pointers, but that was about it." Her enthusiasm from racing instead derives from the town where she was born and brought up. "We always used to have Derby Day afternoon off from school" she recalls "And I went to the Derby every year. At that time I was more interested in flat racing than jumping."

Suzy was a member of the Pony Club at an early age and began riding racehorses at the age of 14 for various local trainers. As a qualified riding instructor by the age of 16, she went on to spend time as head girl at competition yards around the country.

By the age of 18, Suzy had already made her mind up that she wanted to be a racehorse trainer, so she headed to Newmarket to gain the National Stud Diploma. Suzy’s first job after obtaining her qualification was working for Sussex trainer Gardie Grissell, and it was at Grissell’s that she decided jump racing and not the Flat was the type of racing for her. "I think jumping is more exciting and it’s more of a spectacle. From a training viewpoint, it’s great to have the same horses back year after year."

Always keen to extend her knowledge and experience to new things, Suzy went to France to work for Chantilly trainer John Hammond. "I was very keen to see how they did things differently in France and get to know the French racing scene and the racetracks there. John Hammond did things as a trainer which I’ve used myself. I have tried to learn from all the trainers for whom I have worked."

In addition to Grissell and Hammond, Suzy has also worked as pupil assistant to Lincolnshire trainer Michael Chapman, as assistant to permit holder C.J. Bennett, where she trained her first point-to-point winner, and was assistant to the late Herefordshire handler Denis Caro.

Since taking out her licence in September 2002, Suzy’s fortunes have been ever upward. "I don’t set myself targets in terms of winners, but in prize money, as it’s that which determines your position in the trainers’ championship. Every year I try to get more than the year before. We’ll have about 25 horses in for this winter’s campaign, we’ve got room for 30, but it’s always nice to have a few spare boxes in case someone offers you a nice horse! But I wouldn’t want to expand beyond 30 and grow too big. Our emphasis is on quality not quantity."

Julie Caro, the widow of the late trainer Denis, and the Bennett’s, who Suzy also worked for, have indicated how much confidence they have in Suzy’s abilities by having horses in training with her.

The undoubted equine star of Suzy’s career to date has been the remarkably consistent one-eyed mare Material World. "Daisy" as she is called at County Stables, has finished out of the frame just once in 17 starts and has risen 34lb in the handicap in the last three seasons. The way Material World has managed to improve year after year is a testament both the Suzy’s training skills and her patience.

Suzy is not a trainer who over-races her charges, but one who plans their programmes with the utmost care and who always takes the longer-term perspective. Such an approach is clearly paying off: Suzy bagged her highest prize money total ever, helped by Material World’s victory in the Pertemps Hurdle qualifier at Cheltenham in December 2006 and her gallant second place in the final three months on.

Regarding racetracks, Suzy has unsurprisingly registered her highest total of winners at nearby Plumpton, where she boasts a very healthy 18 per cent strike-rate. Cheltenham (where she has a 33 percent strike-rate); Ascot, Hereford, Kempton, Ludlow, Market Rasen and Wincanton are the other venues where she has recorded a level-stakes profit.

"We do seem to be very lucky at Cheltenham," Suzy says. "I also like Market Rasen, it’s a long trek for us so we don’t go there unless we’ve got a chance, but it’s a very fair course, and for novices it’s a bit easier than Plumpton, which has a couple of tricky downhill fences , and Fontwell." Regarding race types, Suzy does particularly well in handicap chases, where her strike-rate over a five year period is 14 per cent, and in selling hurdles, where nearly one in three of her runners wins.

Jockey Colin Bolger partners most of the yards runners and will continue to do so, though the fact that he can no longer ride in boys races any more means that the yard will be making more use of Kevin Tobin, who won his only ride for Smith at the time of writing this at Market Rasen in August 2007. "We’ll also use Darryl Jacob (who has a 16 percent strike-rate for the yard) from time to time and the amateur Paul Callaghan, though he may turn conditional."

Suzy is also at pains to stress the important role her staff play in the operation. Her partner Serge, is assistant trainer, while stable lass Kirsty Huff was runner up in the ‘Newcomer of the Year’ award in the Stable Staff Awards.

"We have a great team," she says. Talking to Suzy, it’s hard not to be impressed by the tremendous enthusiasm she has for her job. Suzy says she has no time for hobbies, but when your hobby is what you do for a living does it really matter?

To unwind Suzy likes to go point-to-pointing: "it’s great because you’re around horses but the pressure is off!" Suzy’s partner Serge also rides in point-to-points.

Training racehorses is certainly not the easiest profession in the world. But with her enthusiasm, determination and diligent approach, it’s a fair bet that we’re going to be hearing a lot more about Suzy Smith in the years ahead.

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