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Find out what the jockeys made of their mounts after the Group 1 $2,500,000 Furphy TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Royal Randwick.

James McDonald (Nature Strip): “It’s just unbelievable isn’t it. Three of them. He’s got the Everest, he’s won everything in Australia, he's just an incredible incredible horse. This one I don’t know, it feels just surreal. I just sort of feel numb because the horse is just a marvel. What he’s achieved in his career, he’s just a freak.”

“The barrier (outside 11) allowed us to do what we wanted to do, it was no concern whatsoever, if not it was a blessing. He popped away the cleanest he’s ever popped away, he was just on song.”

“You could see his demeanour when he walked around the barriers before he even loads into the gates. He’s on song, so my job is just to hang onto the neck strap and just keep going through my gears. When he pricked the ears at the 400 I knew it would take a good one to run him down.

“He gives me goosebumps every time a grand final comes around. I know he’s tuned up to the minute, he does everything so well at home. Chris (Waller) has been so happy with him and when he sets one for a race there’s none better.”

“It gives you so much confidence, the barrier allowed us to get into a nice rhythm the whole way and when he pricked his ears at the 400, I was like “What’s going on here?”. A real goosebump feeling winning three TJ’s on him.

Nature Strip wins the TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick

Nash Rawiller (Eduardo): “Look he ran super. I don’t know whether I really did the right thing letting him go. I felt in my guts I was doing the right thing by my horse. He’s run his normal fantastic race. I said to the owners the winner went five lengths better than the other day. That’s all there is to it.”

Jamie Kah (Paulele): “Great effort. Beaten by two very nice horses.”

William Pike (Masked Crusader): “A little bit disappointing.”

Damian Lane (Zoutori): “Ran his usual honest race. Just got back into an impossible position.”

Brock Ryan (Count De Rupee): “He just didn’t handle the track down the straight.”

Tommy Berry (Shelby Sixtysix): “He went well. He didn’t feel as comfortable with me today. Just hung in up the straight. So there might be something a little bit there. WFA at 1200m is a different ball game. He did very well.”

Brenton Avdulla (Rule Of Law): “He didn’t step cleanly, jumped out and probably cost him fifth or sixth.”

Hugh Bowman (Roch 'N' Horse): “Couldn’t quite cope with that pressure.”

Tim Clark (Overpass): “Excellent performance. He tried his heart out for a young 3yo. He’s done an amazing job.”

Josh Parr (Belluci Babe): “Career best performance I believe. She is thriving at the moment.”

Check out the replays and results from Day one of The Star Championships at Royal Randwick