By name and by nature, Sure Thing has been a winner for trainer, David Smith.
An off-season purchase, the four-year-old-gelding has this year dominated Esperance and Kalgoorlie racing and is preparing to take on Perth next.
Smith is not certain what heights the son of Akeed Mofeed can reach, but he’s having a lot of fun with a horse that’s defied his market price.
Bought for $13,000, the former eastern states galloper has returned $37,728 in prizemoney after winning five races from seven starts since debuting in the west in February.
Sure Thing won a hat trick of races in Esperance and at home in Kalgoorlie he’s won his past two starts, the latest on Sunday by a healthy 2 ½ length margin.
Smith is entering unchartered waters with Sure Thing; he’s getting a handle on the best horse he’s trained and is in search of his first Saturday winner.
Smith said racing in Perth will be a challenge for Sure Thing, but he’s quietly confident the speedy on pace galloper is a pretty handy horse to have.
“He’s going really well,” Smith said to Racing WA.
“We picked him out; he was a nice looker and had pace.
“He came here with not the best of feet, but my partner Shannon Anthony has done a great job in getting them right.
“I’d say he will come to town next; that’s his immediate goal.
“His ratings are getting up a bit now.
“I’ve never had a Saturday winner, so I would like to get one before I give it away.”
If Sure Thing can answer a Saturday test, it opens the door to lucrative opportunities.
There’s a feature race on his home track that looms large on the horizon, but Smith says there’s a way to go before he entertains the idea.
“He might be a bit below them, but we can look at something like the Hannans,” Smith said.
“That’s a bit of a pipe dream but if he could measure up, he could be a chance.
“He got the 1300m quite easily yesterday (Sunday) and we should be able to stretch him out, hopefully.
“There’s a bit of water to go under the bridge, but you have to dream and it would be exciting.
“He’s a lovely horse to train and just loves his racing.”
Sure Thing, who has won all his races in WA, found his way to Smith following stints under previous trainers Matt Cumani and Mark Walker.
His only misses for Smith came when second after a short freshen up in Kalgoorlie and a fourth at Ascot when he got involved in a speed battle with Nobelity.
While Sure Thiing continued his winning ways in the Goldfields, Nobelity punched out two wins at Ascot.
But it was earlier in the piece, at his first start in the west when he won an Esperance maiden by 5 ½ lengths that caught the attention of Smith.
“His first win was pretty good,” Smith said.
“He was really big in condition because we had him in the stables for a long time getting his feet right.
“He got quite big and really needed that first run, but he still managed to put them away easily.”
With Belmont still in doubt due to the state of the track, Sure Thing’s Perth venture may well be at Pinjarra or Northam.
The Hannans Handicap (1400m), Kalgoorlie’s iconic sprint race, will be run on October 1.
Julio Santarelli