Smith retired from training in December and Barbaline will be the first of his former horses to debut for a new stable when she steps out for Murray Bridge horseman Matthew Seyers.

Barbaline's return to the races is a timely one given it's just shy of 28 years since Smith trained the first of his two Adelaide Cup winners when Scrupulous was successful.

It was a memorable one, after convincing his millionaire owner Howard Bowie to run the horse after finishing third in the South Australian Derby just over a week earlier.

"During the week… I said, 'If it wasn't the Adelaide Cup, Howard, I'd declare it," Smith, who trained 313 winners and two at the highest level, said.

"He (Howard) said, 'He doesn't know it's the Adelaide Cup… go and get me two and a half thousand out the bank and I'll tell you what to do with it on race morning'.

"So, I went and got the two and a half thousand. He rang about half past nine on the Monday morning, told me what he wanted to do and I had two people lined up to put it on.

"Anyway we collected $52,000 here," he said.

The second of Smith's Adelaide Cup success was an even more famous one.

Exalted Time, giving former champion SA jockey Clare Lindop her first Group 1 winner.

"Exalted Time only started at about 8/1, because his form was pretty reasonable too," Smith said.

"I think he ran second or third in the Lord Reims and he led all the way in the Adelaide Cup.

"He was pretty fit, and Clare Lindop rode him a treat."