Brian Mayfield-Smith to retire

Leading trainer Brian Mayfield-Smith has announced his intention to retire. Mayfield-Smith will close his Flemington stable at the end of November.

Mayfield-Smith cited economic reasons for the decision – the second time he has retired from training in his career. “It costs me $6000 a week to keep open a stable of 26 horses,” Mayfield-Smith told Sky Channel’s Andrew Bensley.

Mayfield-Smith is best known for ending the run of Sydney Trainers’ Premiership wins by the legendary Tommy Smith, who had won 33 in succession before Mayfield-Smith’s 99 winners in 1985-86 beat Smith for the title. Mayfield-Smith, who won the next two Sydney premierships, has trained 30 Group 1 winners.

The Brian Mayfield-Smith profile, as it appeared in the 2008-09 edition of Racing In Australia.

BRIAN MAYFIELD-SMITH

Born: May 24, 1947.

Brian Mayfield-Smith’s interest in horses was developed during his days as a stockman on remote cattle stations in far North Queensland and the Northern Territory. He started working as a strapper in 1967 in Brisbane, moving to Sydney in 1968 for a short stint with trainer Jack Denham.

Mayfield-Smith was granted his training licence in 1971 and based himself at Cairns, training his first winner with his first starter, in April that year – Gay Meld who won by 10 lengths at Mareeba.

He then moved to Townsville in late 1972, training from a caravan under a tree on the home turn, not long after arriving, he trained his first winner with his first runner.

In 1974, Mayfield-Smith relocated to Doomben, again training a winner with his first starter from his new base. It was in Doomben that Brian produced his first ’star’ horse, Tiger Town, who won several good races in Brisbane and Sydney.

Mayfield-Smith made the move to Sydney in 1976, again his first runner was a winner, with Tiger Town being beaten a nose in the 1976 Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m, Randwick). He also was narrowly beaten in the 1977 Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap (1400km, Eagle Farm) in Brisbane.

In 1978, he became private trainer for Millie Fox at Nebo Lodge, Rosehill. A position he held for six years, training more than 300 winners and his first Group 1 winner, Brindisi in the 1980 AJC The Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) at Randwick.

In 1984, Robert Sangster and Bob Lapointe took over the ownership of Nebo Lodge, and appointed Mayfield-Smith as their trainer.

In the 1985-86 season, Mayfield-Smith won the Sydney Trainers’ Premiership with 99 winners, ending Tommy Smith’s 33-year dominance of the title. Mayfield-Smith won the title in the next two years and added the 1987 Golden Slipper Stakes with Marauding on his CV.

In 1987, Mayfield-Smith and his wife Maree took a trip to South Africa that changed their lives. They travelled to South Africa eight times in the next nine years, before Mayfield-Smith made the shock announcement of his retirement from training to move to South Africa to commence a career as a wildlife conservationist, particularly to save the white Rhinoceros.

The South Africa adventure didn’t work out to their liking and the Mayfield-Smiths returned to Australia and opened a boutique training stable at Flemington, with the aim of raising funds for wildlife conservation through training racehorses.

As he has done in every move previously, Mayfield-Smith trained a winner with his first Flemington runner, winning on his home track with Wry Hero.

Mayfield-Smith released his autobiography, titled The Outsider in November 2000.

Mayfield-Smith has the capacity to train 26 horses at Flemington, and his return to training sees him constantly leading the strike-rate averages, with a best season of 27.8% winners to runners in 2001-02. Since his return, he has won eight Group 1 races, including Oliver Twist (2000 Underwood Stakes & Mackinnon Stakes); Rubitano (2002 Newmarket Handicap & Salinger Stakes), Sudurka (2001 Oakleigh Plate & Salinger Stakes) and Lyrical Bid (2006 Myer Classic).

Stables: Flemington

First winner: Gay Meld, Mareeba (Qld), April 1971.

First Group 1 winner: Brindisi, AJC Metropolitan Handicap, October 1980.

Group 1 winners: 30