Landsighting was his usual gluttonous self when Noel and Emma Mayfield-Smith tossed the first of his two night feeds into the bin at 4pm on Wednesday Dec 30th. Noel is one of those trainers who likes to feed his horses in smaller portions over the course of the day.
“Landsighting was a massive eater all his life,” said the respected Hawkesbury trainer. “It was a rare occasion when he didn’t lick the bin clean. It helped him through his racing career and has contributed largely to his longevity.”
The dual Group 1 winner was originally purchased by former veterinarian turned trainer Alan Bell at the Adelaide yearling sale in 1997. Bell shelled out $40,000 on behalf of three Sydney clients - dentists John Cannon and Michael Stergoulis and the late Angelo Barboutis, who at the time was a major player in the meat industry.
When Alan Bell made the surprise decision to relinquish his trainer’s licence, it was John Cannon who recommended Noel Mayfield-Smith as the replacement trainer. These were just some of many memories to come flooding back to Noel before that fateful night was done.
“At 7.30pm Emma went out ahead of me to distribute the final feeds of the day and was instantly aware that the old horse was in trouble,” said Noel. “He was clearly in the throes of a colic attack. We injected him with the commonly used pain killer Finadyne and got him walking immediately.
“When he showed no sign of improvement we coaxed him onto our horse trailer and went straight to the nearby Hawkesbury Equine Veterinary Centre. The vets were concerned when scans revealed a torsion of the large intestine. They were of the opinion a much younger horse would have difficulty surviving the necessary surgery, let alone a 25 year old. We made the inevitable but heartbreaking decision to euthanise the grand old horse.”
Landsighting spent his retirement in a horse heaven at Angst Lodge .
After being transported to NSW from the Adelaide sales complex in 1997 the son of Greig NZ all but broke himself in and was then sent to a Hawkesbury Valley agistment farm. A month later Noel got a call from a very worried proprietor, who feared the horse had a serious illness. “He said the yearling ate everything put in front of him, but was losing weight rapidly and looked terrible.”
“He wasn’t exaggerating. The colt had a dull, woolly coat and was very light in condition. A blood test showed no abnormality, so we put him in a yard close to all the stable activity and tried not to look at him. Within a few weeks the transformation was staggering. His coat cleaned up and he gained weight quickly. We realised later that this was a horse who loved stable life. For the rest of his days he simply wanted to know what was going on. He was a sticky beak who loved people around him. I’ve never known a horse quite like him.”
Landsighting was a gelding by the time he lined up for his first race start in a 900m Maiden at Newcastle. He finished a pleasing second in the hands of Malcolm Fitzgerald, who’s now managing a rehoming property for Racing NSW on the mid north coast. Noel felt the youngster had done enough and sent him straight to the paddock.
Next time in, he had two barrier trials before winning consecutive 2YO events at Randwick. Danny Beasley rode him in the first win on a Heavy 10 track, while Craig Carmody was on board for the second on a Soft 5 surface. This was the day he showed a glimpse of something special with a 4.5 length victory. Noel says Landsighting tolerated rain affected tracks throughout his career, but was a different horse on top of the ground.
Noel with Landsighting and Emma with In Top Swing at the Angst Lodge retirement home.
Following a “freshen” he had one soft barrier trial before contesting the Gr 2 Up And Coming Stakes in which he finished a fairly distant seventh. “The track was bottomless on the day, and this was one time he failed to handle it,” said Noel. “He may have been coming to the end of it by that stage and I stopped immediately.”
Next time in he raced four times for two wins and a second. He won a 3YO Class 6 at Randwick with Danny Beasley on board, and a Flying Welter on the same track with Craig Carmody doing the honours. At his second crack at stakes level Landsighting beat all but the talented Ab Initio in the Gr 3 Frederick Clissold Hcp. A protest lodged by Carmody against the winner was dismissed.
Two decades on Beasley and Carmody have fond memories of Landsighting. Singapore based Beasley had the following to say. “He was such a beautiful looking horse. A big imposing fellow who showed great ability right from the start. It was no surprise to see him reach the highest level. He was just a very consistent horse throughout his career.”
Had Craig Carmody not decided to accept a Singapore contract in 2000 he may well have won a Gr 1 on Landsighting. “He was a gem to ride because of his on pace style,” recalled the present day Randwick trainer. “He always travelled underneath you and would unleash with his customary acceleration and determination.”
A few days after the Frederick Clissold placing Noel spotted a hint of lameness in the three year old. He was horrified when X/Rays revealed a prominent spur in a top carpal bone of the near foreleg. The spur was surgically removed with no complications, but nobody was prepared for the drama that followed. It took the promising horse a long time to get over a massive infection that erupted following the surgery.
It was more than a year before Landsighting made it back to the track. The insatiable eater was on the burly side when he resumed and was actually unplaced at his first three runs. The performances were good enough to warrant a trip to Queensland where he improved to finish third at Doomben with Gavan Duffy on board. Duffy couldn’t make the weight a week later when he lined up again in the listed Triple Crown Hcp at Eagle Farm. Chris Munce took over and to this day remembers the gelding’s run.
“I got caught three wide on him for the whole trip, but he just charged away from them to win easily,” said the former champion jockey. “He dropped 3.5 kgs in the Stradbroke three weeks later, and I was very keen to stay on him.”
Munce’s judgement proved correct. Noel had the gelding spot on for the famous Gr 1 sprint, and Munce gave him a copybook ride. Landsighting came from midfield with his trademark turn of foot to comprehensively beat Mr. Innocent who’d won the Doomben $10,000 three weeks earlier. “He was an extremely genuine horse who always put in,” concluded Munce.
Landsighting was too good for Mr. Innocent in the 2000 Stradbroke Hcp - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Landsighting resumed as a spring 5 year old for a four start campaign which included a second in the Gr 2 Theo Marks Stakes and a strong win in the Gr 3 Bill Ritchie. With Chris Munce unavailable for the Epsom, the ride went to Victorian Brett Prebble who came around two leaders on the turn while Shogun Lodge gained a lucky rails run. Landsighting was beaten only a short neck by the massively talented Shogun Lodge. To this day Noel believes that was one that got away.
Prebble retained the ride when Noel whisked the gelding to Melbourne for the Gr 3 Yallambee Stud Stakes over the Melbourne Cup carnival - something he’s regretted ever since. “He was knocked off his feet in a severe scrimmage soon after the start and never got into the race,” recalled the trainer. “To make matters worse he was very sore over the back on cooling down. I got him straight home and into the paddock.”
In winning the Gr 3 Bill Ritchie Hcp 23/09/2000, Landsighting defeated Tie The Knot and Valuate - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Landsighting had furnished into a very powerful horse by the time he returned in the Autumn of 2001. He was carrying plenty of weight early in the preparation which he began with a good third in the Expressway Stakes with Chris Munce up. He was disappointing in the Apollo Stakes with Corey Brown in the saddle, but this race was run on one of those “bottomless” Heavy 10’s. Uncharacteristically he didn’t let down in his usual manner.
Munce was back on for the Newcastle Newmarket in which he finished fourth only a length behind the winner Crawl. “Chris was a little disappointed but I was happy enough because I felt the horse had raced a little too close,” said Noel. “I decided to press on to the George Ryder with Corey Brown replacing Chris Munce.
On the Tuesday morning before the Ryder, Landsighting recorded one of the best gallops ever seen on the Hawkesbury cinders. Noel’s wife Emma who rode the horse exclusively in trackwork was speechless when she came off the track. “That’s the fastest last 400m I’ve ever travelled on a racehorse,” said Mrs Mayfield-Smith.
On a firm Rosehill surface Landsighting had perhaps his finest moment in the 2001 Gr 1 George Ryder Stakes. He travelled midfield before unleashing at the 200m to beat the likes of Shogun Lodge, Crawl and Adam. He was going away on the line to record a winning margin of a length and a half.
“It was a very important win for me at that stage of my career,” said Corey Brown over the weekend. “I was twenty four years old and just starting to get a foothold. I remember being wrapped to get a Gr 1 ride on such a lovely horse. He looked magnificent and I was pretty chuffed as we paraded before going onto the track. He felt awesome in the run and put good horses away in a few strides. He was a lovely horse.”
This was an important win for Corey Brown early in his career - the Gr 1 George Ryder 2001 - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Such was the dominance of his Ryder win that Landsighting started a $5.00 favourite in a very hot Doncaster. With Corey committed to another runner, the all conquering Damien Oliver gained what looked to be a plum ride in the famous race. “He was in the right spot coming over the rise but when Damien popped the question he didn’t let down,” said Noel. “He was clearly lame on returning to scale and Damien had no doubt we’d find a problem.”
How right he was! Extensive tests revealed that a small bone flake had dislodged from Landsighting’s off fore lateral sesamoid bone. The impact had also damaged fibres where a branch of the suspensory ligament attaches to the sesamoid. It appeared that the horse had been galloped on by another runner when racing tight between horses in the middle stages.
A bleak prognosis influenced Noel and the five year old’s owners to retire him immediately. There was never a suggestion that he would retire anywhere other than Mayfield-Smith’s Hawkesbury training complex. He spent twenty years as a VIP guest, never missing a meal and enjoying the run of the place. He would be allowed to wander loose around the property for most of the day, before being boxed or yarded at night.
The $1.3 million dollar earner wasn’t the only former Mayfield-Smith trained horse to be granted a luxury retirement. His co-retirees were former high achieving racehorses In Top Swing and Famous Seamus. The former won the Golden Rose before the race gained Group status, but only a month later he achieved genuine Group 1 success in the 2003 Caulfield Guineas with Noel Callow in the saddle. He banked $1.5 million for his owner, the late Bill Fisher.
Famous Seamus was the kind of horse every owner dreams about. Despite an aversion to rain affected tracks the gelding won a whopping twelve races which included eight at stakes level and a Gr 1 BTC Cup. A hugely talented horse, Famous Seamus struck many wet tracks during his career. There’s little doubt his record should have been even better.
Steve Hart was at Eagle Farm to snap this one of Noel and Emma minutes after Landsighting’s Stradbroke win - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
It’s very significant that the Mayfield-Smith training operation is named in honour of the filly who gave his career tremendous impetus in the 1990’s. Angst came along only eighteen months into Noel’s solo training career. She was unplaced first up at Newcastle when she pulled up extremely shin sore and had to be put away immediately.
Seventeen weeks later she won first up over 900m at Newcastle with Mark Peters up and followed that with a demolition job on the opposition at Wyong with Craig Carmody in the saddle. Angst went “bush” next start to finish a luckless second in the Wellington Boot after which another spell beckoned.
The grey daughter of Kala Dancer was beaten into fourth place at her first run next preparation, but was never beaten again. With the Princess Series coming up Noel opted for one more lead up run at Rosehill in August 1993. She was convincing without being spectacular, but was on the brink of stamping herself the best 3YO filly in Australia.
She won the Gr 2 Silver Shadow and the listed Furious Stakes with authority, and then came the win that Noel still has trouble getting his head around. She won the Gr 2 Tea Rose Stakes by 5 lengths with a closing 400 metres of 22.1 seconds. “Honestly coming to the line she looked like she was cantering around to the barrier,” said the trainer of the powerfully made filly. Two weeks later Angst got her deserved Gr 1 in the Flight Stakes before going for a spell.
She was well into her Autumn campaign when she suddenly developed breathing difficulties. A thorough examination revealed the presence of polyps on the larynx, requiring immediate surgery. The procedure was incident free and the filly seemed to be making rapid progress when she got into difficulty during the night and actually suffocated.
The third leg of the 1993 Princess Series. Angst treats a smart field of fillies with absolute contempt winning by 5 lengths in the Tea Rose Stakes - courtesy Steve Hart Photographics.
Had it not been for a compact brown horse by the name of Mistador, Noel’s sanity would have been seriously threatened in the aftermath of Angst’s premature demise. Mistador was no Angst but he was a genuine and consistent performer who got away with a listed Gosford Classic and an emphatic defeat of rising star Mahogany in the listed Spring Stakes at Newcastle.
The mood at Angst Lodge will be on the sombre side for some time to come. In losing Landsighting, Noel and Emma have lost a member of the family. You can’t be around a horse every day for more than twenty three years without forming a special bond - especially when it’s a horse of such wonderful temperament and character.
Noel trains only a small team these days with the invaluable support of a wife who’s been riding thoroughbreds since childhood days in her native Ireland. Emma grew up under the tutelage of her father Willie Robinson, a hugely successful rider on the flat and over the jumps. He rode placegetters in both the Irish and English Derbies but attained his greatest success in jumps races. He’s the only jockey to have won the famous Hennessy Gold Cup three times, one of them on legendary “chaser” Mill House. This horse also gave him a win in the 1963 Cheltenham Gold Cup.
With almost 40 stakes wins to his credit including 5 Group 1’s Noel Mayfield-Smith has earned his stripes as a very serious horse trainer.
Horses like the man and so do his owners. His wife of nineteen years compares with the very best of Sydney’s specialist trackwork riders, and he has the support of seventeen year old daughter Lara who thinks he’s an outstanding horse trainer and an even better dad.
All he needs now is a generous owner to find him a horse worthy of claiming Landsighting’s old feed bin. Better make that sooner rather than later because that feed bin’s all but worn out.
The Mayfield-Smiths - devoted horse lovers.
(Banner image - 24 year old Corey Brown salutes the crowd as he wins the 2001 George Ryder on Landsighting - Steve Hart Photographics.)