he was a ten-year-old, when he had to be destroyed after becoming caught in a float fire on his way home from a race meeting. Smith's reputation as an emerging trainer was further enhanced with the success of Playboy, which he also owned, in the 1949 AJC Derby. Playboy started at 100/1 and was heavily backed by Smith earning the trainer a large sum of money. In December 1950 Smith was disqualified from training for five years for not taking sufficient precautions to prevent one of his two-year-olds from being drugged and giving false evidence at a subsequent hearing. Smith appealed the sentence and in January 1951 the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) upheld the appeal and instead chose to issue a "severe reprimand". At the 1956 New Zealand National Sales Smith bought a Khorassan colt for 750 guineas. He had difficulty in placing the horse with an owner, but eventually persuaded E. A. Haley to take him. The horse was Tulloch, that was to become regarded as one of the three finest racehorses in Australian racing history. Years of success Smith won the first of 33 successive Sydney training premierships in 1953 and began to win races outside of Sydney. In 1955, he won Australia richest race, the Melbourne Cup, with Toparoa, defeating the champion Rising Fast. During the 1950s Smith trained a number of high class horses including Redcraze and the exceptional Tulloch whose feature race wins including the 1957 Caulfield Cup and 1960 W. S. Cox Plate. Smith went on to win a second Melbourne Cup with Just A Dash in 1981. Training methods Smith was known for keeping his horses very fit using what was called the "bone and muscle" method. According to his longtime veterinarian Percy Sykes, Smith rarely changed his training methods and kept his horses work consistent. Sykes also claims Smith was a leader in equine nutritional development, in particular the use of protein in feed. Smith employed many long-term staff, including his brother, Ernie, and Sykes. Bob Thomsen, who later had his own successful training career, was stable foreman at Tulloch Lodge for nine years. Trainers premierships and feature race wins In 1952–1953, Smith won the Sydney Trainers Premiership for the first time, beating rival trainer Maurice McCarten. Smith went on to win the Sydney Trainers Premiership for thirty-three consecutive years before coming second to Brian Mayfield-Smith in the 1985-86 racing season. Smith