Winning trainer, Denice Warren, was thrilled with the result and said that it was a particularly poignant win personally. 

“That one was a special one to me because it was the last time they’ll have a Canberra Cup on,” Warren said. 

“To be honest, it meant a lot to win that last one. To win a major final is always a bit of an achievement because it’s not easy to win finals of any race.

“It’s always great when you can win a major race with a dog, or any race for that matter.

“It was a nice race to win, especially being the last race meeting up there.” 

The race took place last Sunday, and the win was special for Warren, in part, because of her long history with Canberra racing. 

“Canberra’s been a great track to me over the years, because I think I was up there not long after they opened the Canberra track,” she said. 

“It’s been a part of my career for a long time.” 

Warren has been training Smooth Blend for a couple of years, after she received him from a breeder and close friend in Bundaberg. 

The dog is three years old, and Warren expects him to keep running for another 18 months to two years should he remain fit and healthy. 

Going into the Canberra event, Warren was fairly confident that Smooth Blend would due well due to his strong performance in the heats. 

“He was the fastest heat winner,” she said. 

“I thought he had a real big chance, but you never count your chickens before they hatch going into finals, because it’s a different race to the ones that you’ve already competed in.

“In any racing, whether it’s horses or dogs, nothing’s sealed in concrete until they get over the winning post.” 

Smooth Blend ended up winning the race comfortably, by roughly three and a half lengths. 

Warren does not have any concrete plans for Smooth Blend’s next race. 

“[I] haven’t really planned out anything at the moment, nothing in the way of major races coming up at the moment for him,” she said.