The T J Smith Stakes has quickly become Sydney's premier sprint race during the Autumn Carnival. Held on the first day of the Championships at Royal Randwick, the two-and-a-half million dollar prize purse attracts the best sprinters in the country, who dash for not just the cash but the prestige of a Group One win during the Championships.

The T J Smith was only inaugurated in 1997, as the Endeavour Stakes. However the name was quickly changed to honour Thomas John Smith, after he passed away in 1998. Smith was one of Australia's great horse trainers, having saddled up the likes of Tulloch, Gunsynd and Kingston Town.

Gai Waterhouse trained the winners in the 2005 and 2007 editions of the race. These were particularly noteworthy victories as T J Smith is Gai Waterhouse's father. Plenty of Sydneyiders were overjoyed to see Gai train the winner in the race named after her father.

Since then, the race has only gone from strength to strength, with the best sprinters of the past decade all making their mark at Randwick. Apache Cat, Takeover Target, Lamkan Rupee and Black Caviar have all triumphed in the T J Smith, boosting the prestige of the race.

However, it was Chautauqua who really made the race his own. The Grey Flash claimed three successive victories in the T J Smith from 2015 to 2017. The latter was arguably the most impressive victory of his career. Chautauqua had Buckley's chance at the 300-metre mark, before he produced a barnstorming run down the centre of the track to claim the win.