Alec Laird said: “We plan to get her to England in June when she will stay at Mary Slack’s Abington Place stables in Newmarket with me as the trainer.

“We haven’t yet decided whether she should have her prep races in England. France would also be a possibility although America might offer a softer option.

“On the other hand it might make more sense to travel to America with the other UK horses going for the Breeders’ Cup. But we now know that we have the best horse in South Africa to send there.”

True. The daughter of Ideal World didn’t just beat her male opponents, she absolutely slaughtered them, coming right away in the final furlong to put three and a half lengths between herself and Queen’s Plate winner Legal Eagle. The 8-1 chance’s time of 2 min 3.17 sec has been bettered only three times in the last 15 Mets – by Pocket Power in 2007, River Jetez three years later and Martial Eagle in 2013.

Even Laird (also successful with London News 19 years earlier) admitted: “This was beyond my expectations. I was hoping to win but not at as well as that.”

Owner-breeder Jessica Slack added: “I’m blown away. It’s like a fairytale. Grandma (Bridget Oppenheimer) would be really happy.”

JP van der Merwe,25, repeatedly saluting as he began to pull up, did not finally know the ride was his until he landed at Cape Town airport just after 9.00am. Weichong Marwing’s bad back had also cost the sidelined jockey a bonanza pay day in the CTS Million Dollar.

Captain America, who ran on well to take third, is to be aimed at the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes (April 2) that he won last year. Brett Crawford said: “He won’t go to Durban because the tracks there don’t suit him.”

Fourth-placed Light The Lights will go there, though, with Glen Kotzen saying: “This horse is progressively getting better and our main mission will probably be the Durban July.”

Crawford will, however, send Delma Sherrell’s Gulf Storm who benefitted from first time blinkers to get the best of a blanket finish for the Betting World Cape Flying Championship and give Corne Orffer, 35, his first Grade 1 success.

The Philippi trainer, who also won this with Laisserfaire in 2002, said: “I didn’t put them on before because he used to over-race but, coming back to 1 000m, I felt I had to. I tried them last week and he put up a superb gallop. He will run again at Scottsville where he was second in the Tsogo Sun Horse Sprint last season.”

Brutal Force was beaten only a head and Donovan Dillon reported: “I thought I was going to do it. He ran a hell of a race.” Joey Ramsden added that the four-year-old is likely to stick to sprints.

Carry On Alice (third) led until about 30m out and S’Manga Khumalo said: “She just got tired.” Tevez made up a fair bit of ground to take a close-up fourth – the first four were covered by less than half a length – and Aldo Domeyer reported: “He was comfy most of the way and for a while I thought I might get there but at the end he just stayed on.”

Anton Marcus, last but one on the heavily-backed and disappointing Guiness, was fined R 1 000 for failing to keep straight for the first 200m. The vet could find nothing wrong with Trip Tease (last) but Piere Strydom said his mount coughed.

> Phumelela boss Clyde Basel reported the crowd 15% up on last year.

By Michael Clower
Picture (Liesl King): Smart Call (Anton Marcus up) at the J&B Met gallops

What the Met jockeys said:

JP van Der Merwe (Smart Call): “I got over quite nicely and sat behind Anton Marcus on Legal Eagle. I pulled her out 300m from home and she showed them what she is made of. It was the biggest thrill of my career.”

Anton Marcus, second on Legal Eagle after appearing to lead briefly 300m out: “Not really – I knew there was something coming – but otherwise everything went right and he ran his heart out.”

Corne Orffer, third on Captain America: “He is a superb miler and everyone knows he is not really a 2 000m horse but he kept on well the whole way to the line.”

Stuart Randolph, fourth on Light The Lights: “Mentally he is still a bit immature but physically he has progressed by leaps and bounds since his gelding and he ran very well.”

Grant van Niekerk, fifth on Paterfamilias: “He ran a cracker and I would have been in the money if I’d had a better draw.”

Piere Strydom, sixth on Legislate: “I had no option but to go on because he takes you and I could have done with a pacemaker. They go faster in the July so you can switch them off easier.”

Ian Sturgeon, seventh on Punta Arenas: “He got a bit tight at the top of the lane and he didn’t enjoy that.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe, 11^th on Futura: “I was a bit far back but I thought I would get past them, and certainly get past Captain America, but he didn’t quicken. He is much better than that.”

By Michael Clower
Picture (Liesl King): JP van der Merve 

The Duncan Howells-trained Australian-bred Henrythenavigator three-year-old colt Ten Gun Salute opened up several opportunities for his connections when storming to victory in yesterday’s Listed Michael Roberts Handicap over 1800m at Greyville under Muzi Yeni, who had recovered quickly from a nasty fall at the Vaal last week and notched up a treble.
Ten Gun Salute cut down the brave Gavin Van Zyl-trained warrior Silver Spring to record his third win in succession.
Howells had bad luck raiding Johannesburg with the top class filly Same Jurisdiction last season, although she still earned some good stakes money, but Ten Gun Salute could make up for it as he looks ready made for a race like the lucrative Gr 1 SA Classic over 1800m at Turffontein. Otherwise the Gr 2 KRA Guineas and the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 beckon. Howells’ recommendation of patience with this ever developing horse has paid dividends.
Earlier, the brilliant miler Ice Machine trained by Charles Laird denied the Dennis Drier-trained sprinter Barbosa a five-timer when winning the Non-Black Type Marula Sprint over 1200m under Anton Marcus, having skipped the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate due to too wide a draw.
There was also a good victory for the classy Paul Gadsby-trained Miss Varlicious in a MR handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m as she produced a late charge under 4kg claimer Calvin Ngcobo.
The Doug Campbell-trained Lala and the Paul Lafferty-trained Ole Gunnar stamped themselves as possible three-year-old feature candidates when winning the Graduation Plate races on the card in eyecatching style under Ian Sturgeon and Keagan de Melo respectively.
– David Thiselton
– Picture: Micheal Roberts congratulates Muzi Yeni after the win on Ten Gun Salute (Nkosi Hlophe)

JP van der Merwe made the most of a pick-up ride when piloting 8-1 chance Smart Call to a smashing victory in the Gr1 J&B Met at a packed Kenilworth yesterday. It was almost as if Alec Laird’s filly had jumped in at the top of the straight as she powered past hot favourite Legal Eagle to win as she liked. Legal Eagle was 3,5 lengths adrift at the line with Captain America and Light The Lights filling the minor placings.

Weichong Marwing, who missed the ride on Illuminator in the $1 Million Dollar last Saturday because of a serious back injury, was also carded to ride Smart Call but Laird was undecided on who to replace him with until mid-week with names like Frankie Dettori and Dougie Whyte being bandied about.

But Laird eventually settled on Van der Merwe. “He’s done a lot of work on her and whenever I asked him to ride her he hopped on immediately even though he was not riding her in a race.”

“He was down to ride for Paul Reeves so I thought, why not?” mused Laird.

“Once I got the ride I kept on refreshing (the webpage) to see if I was still on,” said Van der Merwe. “I checked again this morning just to make sure.”

As races went it was straight forward for the winner. “I sat behind Anton and Legal Eagle and when I asked her she quickened away.”

Big occasions can get the better of Laird, a family trait inherited from his father Syd, who was also short on words and to the point in his victory speeches. “I was hoping to win; not as well as that,” he quipped. “She got a very good place sitting behind the favourite. She was in the right place.”

Owner Jessica Slack has a family pedigree filled with as much Black type as Laird’s and the home-bred filly by resident Mauritzfontein stallion Ideal World is out of the mare Good Judgement by the best racehorse ever bred at the famous Oppenheimer stud, Horse Chestnut.

“I knew she was a good filly,” gushed Slack, “but I didn’t think that good.”

The 16-10 favourite Legal Eagle was given every chance by Anton Marcus who looked to have ridden the perfect race at he took command in the straight. But there were no answers forthcoming once Smart Call quickened past.

Disappointments were stable companions Futura and Legislate. The latter dictated matters early but had nothing to come in the straight while Futura was never in the hunt.

However, although Snaith failed to land his first Met, his army of 36 runners produced eight winners and as consolation 8-1 chance Ovidio hammered home in the Gr 2  J&B Urban Honey Stayers from Coltrane and Kingston Mines. This eclipsed Snaith’s previous Met total of five and his record of seven in Port Elizabeth.

Corne Orffer has been around the block and finally cracked his Grade 1 duck in the Betting World Cape Flying Championship aboard the Brett Crawford runner Gulf Storm. In doing so Orffer snapped Snaith’s early run of winners – but it was a close run thing.

S’Manga Khumalo kicked favourite Carry On Alice for home through the 400m mark, a move that looked to have paid off 50m out. But Khumalo became increasing desperate as the line approached and was swamped 20m from victory. The blinkered Gulf Storm and Brutal Force wore the game filly down and with two short-heads separating the first three home the judges posted Gulf Storm from Brutal Force and Carry On Alice.

“Brett always had this race in mind. He aimed him for this race since he got back from Durban,” said Orffer of his first Grade 1 win.

A hoarse Crawford croaked, “Credit must go to Corne. He gave the horse a fantastic ride. Putting the blinkers on made all the difference.”
– Andrew Harrison
Lead picture: Smart Call winning the 2016 J&B Met (Liesl King)

The J&B Met has attracted a strong field, but five of the runners look a class above the rest and under the conditions, which are weight for age plus a Gr 1 penalty, the posted result will likely closely resemble the top of the bookmakers betting boards.

The race will also show whether the favourite Legal Eagle is something truly special.

The Greys Inn gelding’s only hiccup in his recent runs has been when hampered in the July. Nobody yet knows what his limit is, but a repeat of his best rated performances to date will be enough to win this race, which is over an ideal trip. He will be hard to beat from draw three with Anton Marcus up.

Last year’s winner Futura should find a good position from a draw of six before running all the way to the line.

Legislate reportedly needed his Queens Plate run, as did his stablemate Futura, and should be in the shake up. He has been targeted at this race from a long way out and is a Gr 1 Cape Derby winner over course and distance.

Captain America finished second to Legislate in that Derby, despite over racing, so could be a threat as he has learnt to settle since gelding. He ran on from a long way back in the Queens Plate for fourth after a slow start from a wide draw and is now well drawn.

Smart Call has been a revelation since coming from off the pace and the form of her impressive win in the Paddock Stakes was franked when Inara followed up by winning the Majorca Stakes.

Gold Onyx loves Cape Town and finished second in a weaker Met than this last year. His famed short run in can be very effective provided he finds a good spot in the running.

Light The Lights has come into his own since gelding and his good turn of foot will be a valuable weapon over a suitable trip.

Punta Arenas’ honest third and fifth-place finishes in the last two years were in weaker fields, but the evergreen seven-year-old has actually shown improvement since then and is reunited with Ian Sturgeon, who rode him to an unlucky second in the July.

Paterfamilias has proved this season why he has always been held in high regard and has a place chance, provided he can find a good spot in the running from a high draw.

Helderberg Blue is very well at present but will find it hard to repeat his third of last year in a stronger field.

King Of Pain made no impression when coming from off them in the Queen’s Plate and his recent form does not inspire any confidence. Perhaps his best chance would be a scenario where he leads in a slow run race, an eventuality which saw him beating a top class field to win the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge in 2014.

Master Sabina’s Summer Cup win came in his second run after a long layoff, so he could improve on it, but will need to under these tougher conditions and against better horses.

Mac De Lago stayed on for fifth from way back in the Summer Cup, but has a tough task at the weights.

Keambambuli has a hopeless task but might be used as the pacemaker.

Legal Eagle could take another step towards the Equus Horse Of The Year title by holding off the determined charge of Futura, and Legislate could finish third ahead of Smart Call and Captain America.

The Gr 1 weight for age Betting World Cape Flying Championship should also fall to a Sean Tarry-trained favourite, Carry On Alice, whose last run can be ignored. She has excellent early pace plus a devastating late kick and is officially 2kg better in at the weights than any other horse. The giant Brutal Force has come into his own since gelding, but Anton Marcus has chosen to ride Guinness, who is said to be back to his best. Trip Tease was scratched when bursting through the stalls on Queen’s Plate day, but will definitely be fit enough. If his starting woes don’t affect him he will be a big threat. Gulf Storm is interesting running in first-time blinkers over a trip short of his optimum. Daring Dave lost five lengths last time and still finished only 1,85 lengths behind Harry Lime in a strong Conditions Plate over course and distance, despite giving the latter 4,5kg. Harry Lime is on the up since gelding and could surprise.

The selection is Carry On Alice to beat Guiness with Trip Tease, Brutal Force and Harry Lime next best.

There are eight handicaps on the twelve race card, which makes it tough. However, an eye-catchingly good value price is the 12/1 a win and 22/10 for the first four about Silvan Star in race 5, a talented sort who was unlucky last time and could overcome a wide draw.
By David Thiselton
Picture: Legal Eagle (Liesl King)