Mayfield-Smith team ready to fire
From Racing and Sports 14/07/02

Trainer Brian Mayfield-Smith unveiled plans for his classy team of sprinters after one of the stable understudies, Steel King, scored an easy win at Caulfield today.

Steel King, a half-brother to the recently retired Sprinter of the Year candidate Sudurka, was having only his third start but led throughout to win the Rampion Super Vobis Hcp.

Ridden by Nash Rawiller, Steel King defeated Ruben by 2-1/4 lengths with Littlewood Lane a neck away third.

The winner ran the 1200m in the smart time of 1:10.49 on the dead track, a tick faster than that recorded by Crimson Gem in the opening race.

Mayfield-Smith predicted a bright future for Steel King, comparing him favourably with his Newmarket Handicap winner Rubitano.

"He may not have as much scope as Rubitano but he's pretty smart," said Mayfield-Smith.

Steel King won at Sandown at his debut in January but was then a disappointing third when favourite at Moonee Valley the following month.

"In hindsight, I shouldn't have run him at the Valley, he wasn't moving right at the time," Mayfield-Smith said.

"But it was nothing serious, a bit typical of the Snippets breed, really, and I was pretty happy with his two recent trial efforts."

Mayfield-Smith said he would consider nominating Steel King for the weight for age Triple M Bletchingly Stakes (1100m) at Caulfield on August 3.

"Four-year-olds don't come in well at weight for age at that time of the year, though, so I'll have to think about it."

Mayfield-Smith confirmed that Rubitano, the Newmarket winner in March and a trial winner at Ballarat on Friday, would open his spring campaign in the Bletchingly.

Prince Rubiton, also a Ballarat trial winner, will be nominated for next Saturday's 1000m weight-for-age Monash Stakes at Caulfield.

And it's off to Adelaide for Innovation Girl who will tackle the weight-for-age Dermody Stakes for two and three-year-olds over 1000m at Cheltenham on July 27.

Mayfield-Smith said Innovation Girl, also a Ballarat trial winner, was going particularly well and would be very hard to beat first up.