SMOOTH CHINO PUTS UNBEATEN RECORD ON THE LINE

By Graham Potter | Thursday, April 2, 2026

The unbeaten Smooth Chino will be looking to extend his already impressive winning sequence when he takes on eight rivals in the Group 3 Roma Cup at Ascot on Saturday in a race which is essentially an important stepping stone for the four-year-old on his way to the $5 million Quokka, Western Australia’s richest race, which will be run at the same track on April 18.

The Indianna Weinert trained chestnut has reeled off six wins in-a-row, a run of success which dates back to his debut win in a Maiden over 1000m at Mount Barker back on January 19, 2025 … from which he progressed through to a Class 1 win at Bunbury over 1000m before really underlining his potential by taking out the $250 000 Magic Millions 3YO Trophy over 1200m at Pinjarra.

That Magic Millions win, which came on February 15, 2025, was Smooth Chino’s third run in a four week period, and he was then sent for a eight month spell … and when he resumed it was at Ascot, where he contested another three races … for another three wins … all over 1200m, with Smooth Chino rounding off his Ascot treble with a win in the Listed Black Heart Bart Stakes.

All of that put $327 630 in prize-money in the bank, which is already a great return on investment for a $40 000 purchase by Weinert at the 2023 MM Perth Yearling Sale … and chances are he is not finished yet.

The theory is that when a winning sequence starts to stretch out it becomes harder to maintain as the bar is raised … and that will be the case here as Smooth Chino takes the step up to Group 3 company for the first time.

Backing Smooth Chino’s right to be there is the fact that all of his six wins have been achieved with something to spare with his lowest winning margin being 0.39 lengths. All of the other wins were secured by a winning margin of over a length.

Smooth Chino will be first-up on Saturday and, for the first time, will have a change of jockey … the in-form Lucy Fiore replacing Austin Galati who partnered the son of Maschino in all six wins.

The betting boards have Smooth Chino marked up as the $3 favourite for Saturday’s assignment.

Rope Them In and West Star, two other runners who has secured a slot in the Quokka and who are on the same pathway as Smooth Chino, are on the second and third lines of the betting at $5.50 and $6.50 respectively.

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