Success Stud bred and Jackie Gibson owned Eye Keep Smiling will be competing this weekend in the richest harness race in the world this Saturday at Menangle Park.
The filly is one of only two mares to be competing in the race and was the first filly to have qualified for the race.
Jackie has known since she was born that she was going to be something special.
"It's just incredible," Jackie said. "And to know we've bred her and we still own her, it's terrific.
"You live in hope that they can get to the races and win a couple of races and then to go on from there, but because her family's been so prevalent I kept her."
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Heading into the race this weekend Eye Keep Smiling had 14 wins and four placings out of 21 starts with some very impressive first place finishes under her belt and holds a special place in Jackie's heart having owned her great-grandmother.
"She's a good girl," Jackie said.
"We had her great grandmother, so it's been such a fabulous family for my family.
"Out of that family I've sold the colts out of the line, but I've tried to keep the fillies all the way through, for your own breed line to keep going."
Jackie had almost sold the filly when she was a yearling, however, ultimately kept her and is very glad that she did.
"I almost sold her and then I kept her," she said. "I just wasn't meant to sell her, so I'm very, very grateful for that."
Many locals involved not only in the sport but who follow the harness racing scene would recognise the 'Eye' part of the filly's name, however, they may not know where it originated.
"All the foals out of that line are named something with an 'Eye' in it," Jackie said. "Well that came from Two Eye See, the very first horse that I raced on my own.
"He only had one eye and that was the start of it and that was 18 years ago."
Jackie said that she kept the 'Eye' going as a tribute to him.
Eye Keep Smiling ended up with her name following the day of the yearling sales in Sydney.
"The year that she was named we were at the yearling sale and the truck had just arrived in with all the yearlings," Jackie said. "I'd had one really good filly on there that had cut her leg and one of the boys said to me later, 'all this drama was going on and you kept smiling through the whole lot of it,' and I thought well, I need an Eye name, so it was Eye Keep Smiling."
Eye Keep Smiling has drawn barrier four for the 2300m Eureka on Saturday night with trainer and driver Luke McCarthy taking the reins.
According to Harness NSW the Sweet Lou (USA) x Oh Eye See four-year-old has a best winning mile rate of 1.49.9 and had a winning margin of between 2.3 to 2.6m in her last two starts at Albion Park on August 3 and July 20.
Over the last five race starts she has won three and placed second and fifth in the other two.
On her way to winning her spot in the Eureka the local mare managed to beat out former local Jason Grimson in the Golden Girl at Albion Park.
We wish Jackie and all the connections for Eye Keep Smiling all the best for the big event on Saturday. The race will start at 8.45pm.
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