From New Zealand to Queensland and now Thailand
FORMER Kiwi jockey Philip Smith ensured Snippets’ legacy has gone global.
Smith rode Snippets on that history-making day in 1987, guiding the $3 favourite to a four-length win.
Like all the other connections it was a life-changing moment for Smith who told trainer Sally Keays (nee Rogers) that did not want to get off the colt after first riding him in a barrier trial in the year leading up to the win.
Keays lost contact with Smith in the year following the win but the jockey continued to ride in Australia until the mid-1990s.
These days he lists himself as a bar manager in Thailand.
The Magic Millions win has always been close to Smith’s heart, with the former hoop running the Snippets Sports Bar and Cafe in his new home city in Pattaya. Smith has hosted events at the bar to coincide with major race meetings in Australia.
A sign outside the bar on Cox Plate day last year invited patrons to “join ex-champion NZ jockey PB Smith for all the live action at the hottest new Sports Bar in Pattaya”.