TJ: The Midas Man
Australian History Cultural History Horse Racing Sports Biography True Stories Equine & Equestrian Vintage Sports Collecting
First-edition hardcover of Kevin Perkins’ 1993 bestseller “TJ: The Midas Man” – the only authorised biography of Tommy Smith, the Australian trainer who turned horseracing into pure gold. 350 pages of fast-paced storytelling take readers from Smith’s Depression-era days as a strapper to his record-breaking 33 Sydney trainers’ premierships and 30 Group 1 wins with the immortal Kingston Town. Macmillan Australia’s original print-run is now a scarce vintage collectible, especially in intact dust-jacket condition.
What makes this copy worth owning is the window it opens on Australia’s sporting and social history: the rise of the TAB, the colour and scandal of Sydney tracks in the ’50s–’70s, and the gamble-strewn culture that shaped modern racing. Perkins, a former Sydney Morning Herald turf writer, balances meticulous stud-book detail with vivid character portraits—of Smith’s ferocious work ethic, his battles with officialdom, and the horses that became household names across the nation. Readers interested in horses, Australian culture or sporting biography get a front-row seat to an era when racing commanded the front and back pages.
This first printing carries the patina of a true vintage sports book: gift inscription on the fly-leaf (no author signature), light external foxing to the closed page edges, no dog-ears or internal markings, and the original unclipped dust jacket still bright. For collectors it ticks the key boxes—1993 true 1st edition, hardcover, ISBN 9780732907693, and the iconic gold-foil title treatment that references the “Midas” touch. A solid reading copy and a shelf-worthy tribute to the man who forever changed Australian racing.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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