Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Smart Banker could be the Smart choice

David Thiselton

THE Charles Laird-trained Smart Banker has been at Clairwood for over a month already and is primed for the Rising Sun Gold Challenge to be run over 1 600m on Saturday, in which he will attempt to land the fourth Grade 1 victory of his career.
“He is doing very well and will love this weather,” said Charles Laird yesterday as he looked up at the rain clouds.
Smart Banker has never been beaten over 1 600m and among those victories were two Grade 1s, both in the Harry Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein.
This is his first run since his half-length third in the Champions Challenge which was run over the tough Turffontein 2000m in very soft going.
That race is sure to have taken something out of the horses that took part.
However, Smart Banker did win his first start in Durban last season after winning the Champions Challenge, although that was in a Conditions Plate where he was a weighted certainty.
All of Smart Banker’s Graded victories have happened on the Highveld.
However, this will be his first attempt in a feature mile outside of his home province, and the Strike Smartly five-year-old gelding must be on the shortlist.
Laird didn’t fancy the chances of his Cup Trial contender, Flying Tristram, adjudging him to be too high in the merit ratings.
He achieved his high merit rating on the grounds of two runs, a fourth and an eighth in the Gauteng Guineas and the SA Classic respectively.
Another horse who obviously loves the soft ground is the Sean Tarry-trained Regal Ransom, who won the Champions Challenge.
He is effective over a mile too.
Tarry’s comment that “he might need it, but could surprise” indicates he will go in fresh, so he should be monitored in the pre-race parade just to check that he is not above himself.
The experts had some interesting things to say about the Gold Challenge at Clairwood yesterday.
Garth Puller, whose pre-race predictions on course are usually very accurate, asked on who he thought would win, said, “There’s only one horse.”
That was an obvious reference to Pocket Power and he added that the soft would enhance the great horse’s chances.
He continued, “Tropical Empire will enjoy the soft and rumour has it that Fabiani has been working very well.”
Tony Rivalland also sided with Pocket Power and felt that “at her best Mother Russia would trouble him the most.”
Mike Hessenauer, former racing editor of the Citizen and now with Winning Form, felt Pocket Power would be hard to beat especially at this track with its long straight.
Paul Lafferty said, “This is Pocket Power’s winter mission. Mike de Kock has been hot in the feature races at the moment so Mother Russia and Rudra will be there. Kapil is a very good miler and Smart Banker never runs a bad race.”
Lafferty was very confident of his own Legal Account, who runs in the ninth on Saturday.
She has been on a special heart-rate monitor and interval-training programme in which horses are estimated to do more than double the amount of work of the other horses in the yard.
The effects can be seen as Sports Factor stayed on very well from the front in the Lonsdale at odds of 100-1 on Saturday, while yesterday Fort Noble did the same at odds of 10-1 over 2 000m in soft going, beaten only by a top class looking sort.
Lafferty said, “Legal Account is bred like a sprinter but the way she is built and runs suggests she will love the step up to 1 450m. She is super fit and is a massive runner.”
Lafferty also gave the thumbs up for Goat, who runs in the Cup Trial, although she’s not on the heart-rate programme

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