Emotional scenes as trainer finally wins famous feature

Group One-winning Tuvalu lead the entire race, delivering Smith his first win in the famous feature race on day two of the TAB May Racing Carnival.

The star gelding finished 1.25 lengths ahead of It'sourtime in second, with Flash Flood third.

Smith, who has been training in Warrnambool for nearly five years, was delighted to finally take out the race.

"It's the race that I've tried since the day I walked in here and it hasn't worked but you throw enough darts at it, one day it turns your way," he said.

The 11-time Group One-winning trainer was full of praise for Kersley's ride.

"It was a great ride, he (Fred) said when he came down that he was going to find the fence and he said 'is that OK?' And I said 'good luck if you can pull that off'," he said.

"But he's a horse that's undefeated here, he's changed his training a little bit to keep him a bit fresh.

"Francesca (Christie) had him down doing equestrian work so kudos to her. The horse has felt good, his jump outs have been good but I didn't expect him to lead but it's one of those days if he sat back, he had no hope. "

Smith said the result showed Kersley was a "good, quality rider".

Kersley revealed it was Jules Vallance who suggested the jockey lead in the race.

Vallance, who does form and analysis for Smith, came up with the idea which Kersley loved.

"He's an on pace runner," he said.

"Weight will stop a train. I just wanted to keep the momentum up and keep him flowing.

"It was a masterful plan by Lindsey. The ride was OK but the training performance was better."

Kersley said Smith was keen for Tuvalu to be forward but he wanted to lead.

"The track has been playing to that pattern throughout the day," he said.

"Yes, there was a seven kilo swing in the weights but he's a Group One horse.

"I was happy enough to do that work to find the good going.

"This prep I've been doing everything on him. It all worked perfectly.

"It was some training performance. We know his best trip is 1400-metres, a mile. He's a Group One winner but he was giving seven kilos to some sharp 1200-metre horses."

Kersley said Smith was an elite trainer.

"He's some sort of trainer," he said.

"Tuvalu was pretty docile in the barriers. I was a bit nervous. Lindsey and the crew were saying just off the pace would be OK. I said I would rather lead.

"I tell you what, he's a tough horse. He is a Group One horse. On pace and on the rails was where you wanted to be.

"He had to do it out of his comfort zone. I just didn't want to hinder his momentum.

"He's a horse that wears his heart on his sleeve. He's a tough bugger. I was expecting something to launch out of the pack late."

The jockey said it was special to win with Lindsey and the Smith family and he made special mention of his partner Mia for her support.

He said the ownership group allowing him to ride gave him enormous confidence.

Smith said Tuvalu would likely head to Queensland now however he would be staying home.