Trainer Alec Laird and owner-breeder Jessica Slack will be hoping the effort of taking J&B Met winner Smart Call halfway across the world is worthwhile as she prepares for her first race in the UK.

The daughter of Ideal World is slated to run in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on 1 October and last week she was out through her paces by jockey Frankie Dettori. The prized mare certainly looked the part as she sheltered from a sudden rainstorm under the trees of the Al Bahathri gallop while waiting for her work partner from John Gosden’s stable.

That transpired to be Dick Doughtywylie, who at the age of eight is now retired but was a Listed winner in his day for his owner-breeder Rachel Hood.

The pair breezed just short of 1600m on the Polytrack of the Al Bahathri gallop in preparation for Smart Call’s appearance in the Sun Chariot Stakes before she embarks on her travels again, to Santa Anita for the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

“She was a little rusty but that was her first serious piece of work since she’s been here,” was Dettori’s verdict as he left the gallops. “That will bring her on nicely and there’s three weeks to go before the race which should be perfect.”

–          Racing UK

Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion winner Always In Charge will start off his campaign in a 1 200m graduation plate at Kenilworth on November 1.

Vaughan Marshall said: “After that he goes for the R2.5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run over 1 400m on November 19 and then we will take it from there.”

Marshall, who won the 2000 Cape Guineas with the colt’s sire Captain Al, has also mapped a start date for his unbeaten Allan Robertson winner The Secret Is Out who is by the same stallion.

He said: “She will run in the Choice Carriers Championship at the end of next month and then we will see how it goes.”

The World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas on December 3 is the obvious next step if she stays – “a mile shouldn’t be a problem but there is always a doubt in your mind,” the trainer admitted. “However MJ Byleveld is pretty convinced she will get it.”

Neither Grade 1 winner has been seen since their triumphs in early June although this is not, as widely supposed, because Marshall purposely put them away to save them for their three-year-old campaigns. “It was because they both got jarred up when winning those races at Scottsville,” he explained.

Meanwhile, My World will attempt to give weight all round in the Settlers Trophy at Durbanville on Saturday, the five-year-old’s first race of the season.

Candice Bass-Robinson said: “He was to have run in a 2 000m race just over a fortnight ago but they cancelled it. However I’m hoping he won’t need this because he has had a fair amount of work and I’ve galloped him twice.”

In-form Justin Snaith, bidding for his fourth win in this 2 400m Listed handicap, runs last month’s 2 400m winner Captain Splendid (Richard Fourie) and Francia (Greg Cheyne).

Greg Ennion is responsible for four of the 11 runners while Renate du Plessis sends Oh So Modus from Stilbaai and has booked Donovan Dillon. She also runs La Myst (Anthony Andrews) in the mile Novice Plate and Rahvar (MJ Byleveld) in the MR 86 Handicap.

Michael Clower

Racing fans will be looking forward to the popular Friday night racing series which begins this Friday on September 23 and runs all the way through to May 19 next year.

The normal popular facilities at these meetings like the Braai Zone, the Lightning Shot Bar and the Kidzone will be operational. The Durban View restaurant will be open as usual. The Gee Jays will be performing live in the Lightning Shot Bar. A new innovation is a live musician performing on the Paddock Deck situated in the grandstand concourse. At the opening meeting Seb Goldswain will be playing his guitar on The Deck.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of night racing at Greyville. It made its debut at the city track on Friday, February 16, 1996. A large screen conveyed the activities throughout the evening and the meeting proved a great success, attracting a crowd of over 7,300.

However, it was not in fact the first night race meeting in South Africa.

Night Racing in 2002 before the Poly Track (Gold Circle)

The late great racing doyen Jean Jaffee writes in her book They Raced To Win that in the 1945/1946 racing season Joseph Dorfman formed a syndicate which established the Vereeniging Turf Club, whose main objective was to race horses both by day and night. Dorfman had previously inaugurated night greyhound racing at the Wembley Stadium near Turffontein.

Vereeniging Turf Club soon acquired majority shares in the Auckland Park Racing Club. This club had held highly popular race meetings about 60 days a year at the Auckland Park racecourse, which was on the site where the Helen Joseph Memorial Hospital now stands (the racecourse was disbanded in the early 1960s). The Vereeniging Turf Club also purchased the Germiston Sporting Club. However, their attempts to gain control of the Johannesburg Turf Club and the Clairwood Turf Club failed. Their bid to monopolise racing in the country was thus foiled. However, they did later manage to buy the Eastern Districts Sporting Club at Benoni.

In 1946 Dorfman travelled to the USA to study the methods employed in night racing and to buy the necessary equipment. Shortly thereafter, according to the publication The Centenary of the Durban Turf Club, night race meetings were held at The Vaal racecourse for a few months. The Jockey Club was opposed to the meetings and had consequently brought in a rule stating no racing under Jockey Club rules could go ahead after 7 p.m. Furthermore, any trainer or jockey participating in unauthorised racing risked having their licence withdrawn.

Nevertheless, Dorfman went ahead with his plan. The inaugural meeting was washed out by a violent hailstorm which shattered the floodlights and the next meeting was also washed out. Meetings were subsequently held but came to an end after a few months. Jean Jaffee’s book goes on to say South Africa had its first experience of the photo-finish camera at the Vaal racecourse on March 26, 1947. However, there is no reference to who brought the cameras in and whether they were a by-product of Dorfman’s trip to the USA, which if it was the case would have been a positive outcome of the country’s first foray into night racing.

The person who first put night racing on the table in Durban was the Durban Turf Club Chairman J. Arnand Bestel, who in 1970 suggested they stage midweek night meetings. However, the cost of installing floodlights seemed prohibitive. The idea was raised again in 1982 by Tony Stiebel. Stiebel and Dr. Nic Labuschagne researched the matter between 1984 and 1985. The possibility of staging it was seriously brought to the table again in 1990, but by this time the costs of installing floodlights had escalated. However, despite a further escalation in costs, it was decided in 1995 under the chairmanship of Stiebel to institute night racing at Greyville.

General manager at the time Dave Furness clearly had foresight when he said after the opening meeting in 1996, “[Night racing] has been the catalyst to revive the flagging interest in horse racing and I am confident that the attraction of new patrons through innovative projects will sustain and increase participation in our industry.”

David Thiselton            

There is an eight race meeting at the Vaal tomorrow and, as a dress rehearsal for the inaugural running of the Grand Heritage on October 1, the rail between the Inside and Outside racecourses will be removed to allow the whole track to be utilised.

Last week when this was done there was a spur on the outside from the 1600m mark to the 500m mark and low draws turned out to be favourable. However, this time there will be a five metre spur on the inside. Therefore, high drawn horses might gain an advantage by hugging the standside rail, as this strip is usually favourable on the Outside course.  However, low drawn horses will not have far to move off the spur to find the far rail, which has always been favourable on the Inside track. So there might not be any draw advantage at all, although a lot will depend on the jockeys’ perception of where the best going lies.

The highest rated race on the card is the sixth, a MR 91 Handicap over 1200m. The Mike Azzie-trained Angel’s Power, who returned from a short layoff and gelding at the beginning of this year, showed last time out he had come into his own when dropped out from a high draw in the Gr 3 Spring Spree Stakes over 1200m on the Turffontein Inside Track and running on strongly to finish 1,75 lengths behind the top class Kangaroo Jack. A significant aspect to that Handicap race was Kangaroo Jack likely ran off a capped merit rating, so Angel’s Power should be able to handle a one point merit rated raise. Third-placed Moofeed franked the form by finishing third again on Saturday in a Pinnacle Stakes event, despite being under sufferance over a 1450m trip which stretched his stamina reserves.

Angel’s Power has a high draw of eight and the powerful Azzie yard look cherry ripe to kick into top gear. The evergreen Dennis The Menace looks the main danger. He has a powerful finish, but is off a mark five points higher than his highest ever winning mark of 88, which is concerning as he is an eight-year-old. Call Kelly has also been thereabouts recently and is another threat, while Dreamuponadream has ability but can’t be relied on, while Vulcan has been competitive off his current mark.

The two best bets on the card come earlier.

In the third race, a Maiden over 1600m, Skynight is drawn on the outside fence and has Andrew Fortune up. This progressive four-year-old gelding by Argonaut has a lovely action and ran on strongly last time over 1450m. He finished just 0,5 lengths behind the winner in third and, although it wasn’t the strongest field, two winners have actually come out of the race. He will relish the step up in trip being a half-brother to the Gr 3 Betting World Algoa Cup winner Stonehenge. The danger will be Ramaas, who looks to have loads of ability but has tended to ruin his chances by pulling in the early stages, whether it be over 1950m or 1400m. If he settles he will be a huge runner, but he might need gelding.

In the next race, a fillies and mares maiden over 1000m, Lily Love might seem a surprising choice as a best bet, considering she has already had 12 runs without success. However, she looks to be packed with speed and will relish the step down in trip. Last time out she jumped slowly over 1200m but was soon in front, so if she jumps on terms in this race she will be hard to catch. Lady Of The World is the main danger having not been disgraced in a stronger race last time out after going close in a similar race to this the time before. At A Glance beat Lily Love over 1200m last time when making her debut and should improve, but over this trip Lily Love, as one with more natural pace, is preferred.

The hardest race on the card looks to be the seventh, a MR 73 Handicap over 1200m. The one to beat could be Sail For Joy, who proved himself up to this 81 merit rating last time out over this trip  when running on well after a slow start to be beaten only 0,75 lengths in a strong Novice Plate. The promising winner, British Royale, was merit rated 88 and the decent 93 merit rated four-year-old Roquebrune only managed fourth place, while and 86 merit rated three-year-old finished fifth. Sail For Joy could be a banker on paper now in a handicap, but it is never easy for a young three-year-old up against toughened older handicappers for the first time. Including the whole field might be the wisest choice for the Pick 6. William Nicol and and Gold Status are the pick of the older horses. Silver Kavalier is going the right way in his new yard, but looks held by Gold Status on paper. The three-year-old Cosmic Count beat a couple of fair sorts cosily in the maidens last time over this trip and the form has been franked. However, off an 81 merit rating first time in a handicap, it won’t be easy for this youngster.

Punters could get off to a good start in the first, a Maiden for three-year-old fillies over 1400m, with the beautifully bred Mike de Kock-trained Biblical Susan. This Australian-bred daughter of Bernadini is out of a USA-bred who won the Gr 2 Lake Placid Stakes over 1800m for fillies on the turf at Saratoga. Biblical Susan flew up for second from a tricky draw over 1000m on debut at Scottsville and will relish the step up in trip. She makes more appeal on form than My Friend Lee, another hard-knocker who will also appreciate the step up in trip.

David Thiselton

The early call to move yesterday’s scheduled Scottsville meeting to the Greyville poly proved inspirational. The rain continued to pour in the Capital yesterday that would certainly have led to an abandonment but the poly drained nicely after yesterday’s Durban monsoon even though a steady drizzle continued to make things uncomfortable.

The switch to the poly may have been a concern for the connections of Scottsville 1200m record holder Humidor making his poly debut but Tony Rivalland’s runner was never troubled as Muzi Yeni steered him to a rather comfortable victory in the White Horse Function Room Handicap.

Much better behaved at the start, he was out in a flash and was never troubled as he went to the line well clear of Celtic Captain and Ten Gun Salute.

Humidor (Nkosi Hlophe)

It was the big gelding’s fifth win from just eight starts and now that he is proven on the poly he has more options open to him.

Ten Gun Salute ran a cracker in defeat over a distance well short of his best and set himself up for the big Highveld races including the Sansui Summer Cup. Duncan Howells has nine boxes booked for Turffontein with the raiding party due to leave Ashburton on Thursday.

Blinkers are not always a magical solution into coaxing the best out of a horse but it worked in the first with apprentice Diego de Gouveia riding out his 4kg claim with his 20^th winner. It’s seldom easy for a filly to take on the colts, especially in a maiden, but Phantom Rock was always at the top of the boards and Dennis Drier’s filly led all the way. “I said to the kid that they might try and cut your throat, but he rode a good race.”

Elysian Fields finished the best of the Howells pair with Great Britain, having his first run back from a wind operation, fading late but staying on for third.

Drier was quickly back in the winner’s box as the regally-bred Premier Dance, in the colours of Mike and Norma Rattray, finished with a rattle to nail outsider Expresso Martini and the well fancied Onesie on the line. Drawn wide and having her first run she definitely looks to be a future prospect.

My Pal Al enjoyed the step up in trip to shed his maiden in the third for Alistair Gordon and owner/breeders and father/son combination of Dr Nic and Kim Labuschagne with well-backed favourite Archilles seemingly getting lost in the running and only  kicking on late for third.

Apprentice Dennis Schwartz took full advantage of his 4kg claim in the fifth, leading all the way on Pearl Emblem. Always consistent for Paul Lafferty, Pearl Emblem kept rolling and was never in trouble with Lobelia and Crackpot fighting it out for the minor places. Favourite School Run faded tamely early in the straight.

Andrew Harrison