But he was far from worried about the barrier manners of Mullingar Mac before scoring him up behind the mobile in the 2-4 win mobile pace for older horses.
The Road Machine gelding has proved a heartbreaker for punters and trainers alike with his tendency to gallop behind the mobile barriers, but Smith - who has been looking after the 8yr-old since Andrew Armour claimed the horse following the Akaroa meeting on March 17 - has found him to be a lovely horse around his Leithfield Beach property.
''I'm happy with how he's worked. He seems a nice sensible horse,'' Smith said.
''He's obviously got a bit of a flaw in him, but I think going in all the amateur races hasn't helped him.''
Smith has been in contact with Stephen McNally, who trained the gelding for nine starts in 2012, and trained and drove Mullingar Mac in his last two starts.
He won at Rangiora in late February before running third at Motukarara on March 17.
''He's obviously had a bit of an issue behind the gate, but I've had a talk to Stephen. He gave me a couple of pointers,'' Smith said.
''He should be pretty hard to beat the way he's been racing.''
Smith has not sat in the sulky behind Mullingar Mac on race day since April 2011, but that was in a standing start event.
While Mullingar Mac has 91 starts under the belt, Smith has a debutante to sit behind in race 2 - and a well-bred one at that.
The 3yr-old filly Tricky Girl is raced by Rangiora breeder Dave McDonald, who had her half-brother, Radar, with Smith early in his career.
Her debut in the $6500, 2700m maiden is a week too early, Smith feels, but he was left short of options.
''She's pretty green and there are no workouts up here this week, so I thought I'd throw her in down there and give her another run,'' he said.
''She's probably a run or two away from being at her best, but she's probably one to follow in the coming months.''
Shikari has drawn well in a 1-win 2200m mobile, and expect him to be pushing forward from the gate.
The trip to the West Coast in early March for two starts had forced a change in training style, Smith said.
''He actually raced better on the second day [of the West Coast trip], so I upped his work rate, thinking maybe I've been a bit light on him,'' he said.
''He's got a bit of gate speed, so I'll probably take him to a handy position, and he'll probably go pretty close.''
Two sires' stakes heats for fillies bring a touch of class to Forbury Park tonight. Change Time, a half-sister to Changeover, gives Ken Barron a great chance to bring up the milestone of 1000 driving wins in the 2yr-old heat, although Cala's track-record run at Gore on March 10 suggests she is capable of overcoming her wide draw.
The Robert Dunn-trained Kabet and the Cran Dalgety pair of Safedra and For The Ladies should battle out the 3yr-old heat from their inside draws.
