The Rob Wellington-trained Smiler Marshall hands stable huge thrill over Albury carnival

Smiler Marshall ($10) had finished sixth in his two runs since resuming but was able to lead all-the-way in the $30,000 Benchmark 58 Handicap, (1175m) with apprentice Fiona Sandkuhl aboard.

The victory added to the dominance of Albury trainers at their hometown carnival with local trainers taking out four of the eight races on the card.

Martin Stein won the opening race with Indian Soldier which was quickly followed by Perfect Illusion winning the Adrian Ledger Memorial for Mitch Beer.

Ron Stubbs won the final race on the card with Sparring who handed the trainer back-to-back wins in the Flat Knacker after Boss Lady Rocks saluted in the feature last year.

Wellington was thrilled to join the party and savoured the win on Albury Racing Club's premier meeting.

"It's been a great day for Albury trainers and a few of us have been able to get amongst it, which is great," Wellington said.

"We always thought Smiler Marshall had the ability to be in this sort of race.

"He nearly fell at his last start at Corowa on Corowa Cup day which robbed him of a bit of confidence.

"So I told Fiona to make sure he knew he was in a race and to go to the front and try and dominate his rivals.

"Fiona produced a fantastic ride and the horse was good enough to do the rest."

Wellington said it was a good reward for his stable and his staff who were a huge part of the success.

ALSO IN SPORT

"Faith Collins rides the horse in all his work," he said.

"My son Jesse puts in a lot of hard work at the stables as well.

"Darrel Blyton is in his seventies and he is good enough to come down several times a week to give us a hand as well which is much appreciated.

"We had five runners over the carnival and were hoping Altrove may have went a little bit better.

"But I was proud how my stable performed overall as a whole."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: