Last year’s Met winner Smart Call has been sent to Sir Michael Stoute who was an interested spectator at the Sun Met on Saturday.

SmartCall (Nkosi Hlophe)

The five-year-old, who also won the Maine Chance Paddock Stakes, was sent to Newmarket via Mauritius and was based at Mary Slack’s Abington Place stables when still trained by Alec Laird. He intended running her in the Sun Chariot Stakes before sending her to America for the Breeders’ Cup meeting but she met with a late setback and had to be scratched from the Newmarket Grade 1. It was then decided not to go for the Breeders’ Cup.

Mrs Slack said: “We are still not sure exactly what she did but it can’t have been much because nobody could find anything wrong. But we will have to see how she is when she starts training with Michael.”

By Michael Clower