This week we had the pleasure of speaking to 22-year-old Dean Smith, son of recently-crowned Eastern Cape Champion Conditioner, Gavin Smith. Dean’s father is sponsored by Hollywoodbets and is a well-known trainer.
Assistant trainer Dean Smith, alongside jockey Raymond Danielson and dad, Gavin Smith. (Pic – Pauline Herman Photograph)
Both Dean and Gavin are looking forward to the upcoming sale, and Dean confirmed that their syndicate will be purchasing a horse at the sales.
Dean was born in Gqeberha, where he attended Grey High School. He matriculated in 2018, and thereafter he dedicated all his time to horseracing – and learning from his dad.
Dean’s sister, Abbi, is married to jockey JP van der Merwe. Dean has a half-brother, Tyler Annandale, and two step siblings – Jordan Lee and Rebecca Lee.
“I did alright at school, however the horses were always a big distraction – I knew that was my passion,’’ Dean said.
A typical Friday would always involve racing. Dean and his friends would watch horseracing and take side bets. Dean grew up in a household with horseracing, and from a young age he had an inclination for sports – he played rugby, cricket, water polo and hockey.
“I enjoyed rugby the most!” Dean adds.
When asked about passions, aspirations and ambitions, Dean’s immediate response was: “My passion is obviously horseracing, as I really enjoy what I’m doing at the moment and couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Another one of Dean’s passions is playing golf with his mates during his free time.
He currently works for his father – trainer Gavin Smith. His current role is assistant trainer to his dad.
“I do most of the marketing and sales, I run our website and Facebook page. I do the feed programmes for the horses and help my Dad with the work schedules, nominations, wrapping horses’ legs, breaking in the babies and the list goes on!”
He is determined to follow in the footsteps of both his Dad and famous Grandad, and he has set his goal to be a phenomenal and successful trainer within the next 5 years. Dean has the motivation to make his dreams a reality.
“We are looking so forward to the sales, it’s always a very rewarding experience – we cannot wait to see our customers and colleagues there’’
A quote that Dean Smith lives by:
“If you are afraid of failure, you don’t deserve to be successful” – Charles Barkley
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Mark Deane
Mark Beck
Dennis Nassif
John Peters
Logan Naidoo
He is an amazing inspirational young man.
Aim for the stars Dean