A son taking up the reins
Dean Smith’s path into training wasn’t the obvious one — his father Gavin, the legendary Eastern Cape handler, had originally hoped he’d pursue something outside racing altogether. Dean spent years working alongside his father at the family’s Greenbushes yard in Gqeberha before stepping up as principal trainer in 2025, following Gavin’s death after a brave battle with cancer. The stable’s history already includes a first Group 1 victory through the sprinter KingDundee, and under Dean the yard has kept building on that foundation, blending the traditional horsemanship he learned at his father’s side with his own modern touches.
A friday card to remember
Friday’s Fairview meeting showed just how busy that operation has become — Smith saddled a striking twelve runners across the card, the kind of book that speaks to a yard in full swing. Two of them, Cruise Control and Stokesy, came home in front, each picking up only the second career win of their racing lives under Smith’s care.
It’s the steady accumulation of days like this — twelve runners, two winners, a stable carrying its name forward — that tells the real story of a son keeping his father’s yard not just alive, but moving ahead.
If you’re following today’s Fairview card, the full racecard and form guide is at cfox.co.za/predictions.
