Robert was an extremely accomplished jockey on the flat and over the hurdles but he was always destined to turn his hand to training once weight forced him from the saddle.

His success as a jockey, both within Australia and at international level provided Robert with an extensive grounding for his arduous choice of profession. Being a member of the famous Smerdon training dynasty further prepared him for the challenges associated with training horses.

Originally based at Ballarat, and arguably Victoria's most successful country trainer for many decades. Robert made the decision in 2003 to become predominantly a metropolitan based trainer, the switch has been very successful, with Robert always prominent in the trainers premiership table.

Although now based at Caulfield, Robert maintains a strong country flavour through a sizeable team still trained from our Ballarat stables.

Robert has trained Group winners in all states of Australia, excluding Western Australia. He has a Sydney Cup, Adelaide Cup and Goodwood Handicap to sit among his Group 1 successes since joining Aquanita, and the rare distinction of training outstanding hurdler Zabenz to a Group 1 win in America.

He is one of the country's most versatile trainers, having won Group 1 races with stayers and sprinters, not to mention his countless successes over the jumps. His ability to place horses where they have their best chance of winning and of getting the absolute maximum out of each horse's ability are legendary.