The annual Robert Smith Memorial Maiden, worth $20,000 to the winner, doesn’t have a lengthy history but it is fast becoming a legitimate breeding ground for some of the sport’s best sprinters.

The inaugural running of the race in 2022 was taken out by French Martini who then went on to win 15 races including the Group 2 Black Top. She holds the current race record of 29.52, can also lay claim to be being the fastest greyhound in history over 515m at The Gardens (28.96), and was a multiple Group 1 finalist for Peter Lagogiane.

Embrace was the runner-up and she went on to claim the Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal a few months later at Wentworth Park for Craig Chappelow. She last raced in December but had a remarkable career, with her 95 starts earning the kennel more than $250,000 in prizemoney.

Vamoose was the third greyhound across the line, with the son of Fernando Bale x Blue Thunda winning 34 of his 60 starts for Sue Smith and John Miles, including the GRNSW Thunderbolt at Grafton. He retired due to injury but was one of the fastest dogs in the country for 12-momths.

The 2023 edition didn’t quite produce the same standard of runner, with Big Boy Wilson winning ahead of Silver Session and Has Ability.

Has Ability did kick on to have quite the career for father-son duo Stu and Clint Hazlett though, winning 15 races and placing in a further 29 to earn more than $100,000 in earnings. He made appearances in finals of the Group 1 Vic Peters Classic, the Group 2 Gosford Cup, the Group 3 Summer Six-Hundred (third), and he also ran in the 2023 Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase decider behind Jay Is Jay.

In 2024, Mr. Peregrine produced the most spectacular victory in the race’s history when he grew wings from back in the pack and flew home to nab Sapphire Banner in the shadows of the post. He’s only won a further five races since then and is now in the care of Andy and Jodie Lord.

Sapphire Banner and Power And Glory finished second and third respectively, with the latter going on to set the track record over 472m at Bulli (25.76). He has also run sixth in a Group 1 Dapto Megastar final, third in a Group 3 New Sensation and second in a Million Dollar Chase Consolation.

As we look towards 2025, perhaps the best final field in history has been assembled.

Six of the eight finalists ran 29.75 or faster in the heats, with Zipping Dekkers producing the low mark of 29.32 for trainer Minnie Finn.

“She’s a fast dog and she was trialling really well at Richmond so I started looking around for a good maiden for her,” Finn said ahead of Saturday night’s decider.

“I sent her up to Johnny Dart for the big Ipswich maiden because it was worth $75,000 but she just didn’t perform to her best. But I got a courier to bring her home straight after they finished so we could get ready for this race at The Gardens.”

“She went 29.48 in her first look at the track, not as fast second time around (29.78) but the track was a bit heavier. Then she came out and did what she did in the heats so she’s ready to go.”

The half-sister to Zipping Orlando will have to navigate a tricky box if she’s to take out the final though after drawing Box 4 alongside litter brother Zipping Elijah in Box 5.

“They will both run straight but Frank’s greyhound [Good Odds Rocky] goes good and Mamasan for Michelle and Daryl is probably boxed best,” Finn added.

“Zipping Elijah is just as quick as the sister but he’s a bit over the top at the moment. He plays up the kennels a bit so we’ll put a suit on him this week and hopefully that relaxes him.”

“Once he settles down though, he’ll be a good dog. He went up to Ipswich as well and was six in front in the semifinal but he stopped like he’d been shot. That’s what happens when they play up in the kennels, it takes too much out of them.”

Mamsan was another nice winner in the preliminaries, clocking a time of 29.57 for connections.

She’ll jump from Box 2 and could be “a big improver” in the final according to Thomas.

“She only broke in fair and she’s still a long way from being at her best, but she’s a real professional and I wouldn’t be surprised if she jumped out of the ground in the final,” Thomas said.

“It was her first ever 500 last week, she pulled up extremely well and she’s drawn inside all the speed which should help. She needed to be down there so if she can get the start right and can at least hold her out into the first bend, she’ll take beating.”

“it’s a quality field but I’m not sure many of them are boxed where they need to be. Zipping Dekkers has experience travelling around and is very fast so it’s got a big advantage in the race and if it finds the fence, it’ll be hard to beat. Minnie could win with a chihuahua at the moment so she’s in form.”

“Franky Hurst is in there so you know his dog will be good, Weffalee Lee Lee ran a mighty race outside Dekkers in the heats and could improve. It’s a genuinely good dog race and it’s a great start for young dogs.”

The Robert Smith Memorial Maiden final, worth $20,000-to-the-winner, will be run in Race 7 on Saturday night at The Gardens.

The two week series, sponsored by Multicam, remembers the late Robert Smith who sadly passed away from cancer, aged 68.

Smith, one of the Hunter Valley’s most successful trainers during a career that spanned more than four decades, was a huge supporter of Ladbrokes Gardens since its opening in 2005, making the venue the ideal place to stage the event.