The hard questions

As time is short Smith obliges with a round of quick-fire word association. Climate change? “Fraud. The whole climate thing is political science, not real science.”

Petrol or electric? “Whatever works most satisfactorily. At the moment and for the foreseeable future it is petrol. The planet is just fine thank you. Man does not control the climate, CO does not control the climate.”

Just then a noisy boy racer roars down his quiet street. “Electric,” exclaims Smith, “I want electric!”

Lefties?

“Once upon a time they used to be nice but now they are just vicious b ******* . You don’t want to write that. Once upon a time, you could debate with them, we were all in the same boat wanting the same things. No longer.” Solar or fossil? “Fossil.” You won’t find solar panels at Clevedon Hills. “Too unreliable. You haven’t mentioned nuclear. It’s worthy of investigation.” Greenies?

“Out of control. It’s so oldfashioned to call them watermelons but the healthy Green movement has been captured by the political left. Control freaks. I want my plastic bags back!” Education? “Captured by the left. It’s groupthink.”

#MeToo?

“Spare me.”

Bike paths?

“Blow them up.”

Mrs Producer? “Stunning. My final destination.”

wanted out. The horse won its next two races and went on to win the Doncaster Handicap at Royal Randwick in 1994 and 1995, a race worth A$1 million then and A$3 million now.

We watch a replay of Pharaoh’s storming finish to grab that first Doncaster by a nostril. “Better than sex,” exclaims Smith.

He backed the horse weeks before the race at odds of 100:1. On arriving home Smith wrote a cheque that cleared his mortgage.

There was a quarter-share in a $100,000 horse that never won a race and was sold for $5000. With that, Smith knew he’d had enough.

He’s sure it will be the same come Friday when he signs off his show for the last time. Don’t look back.

But it’s not the last you will hear from him. Smith will contribute a regular column and podcast for the Herald.