Smart Call on next leg of USA journey
SMART Call left Mauritius yesterday morning for the next leg of a journey that connections hope will end in Breeders’ Cup glory at Santa Anita on November 5.
The Met winner travelled by plane to Belgium and will continue to the UK with the intention of arriving in Newmarket tomorrow.
Trainer Alec Laird said he was happy with the condition and demeanour of the Jessica Slack-owned filly who is targeting the Filly And Mare Turf in California and will have a prep on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes.
The trainer explained: “It would have been great to get her to England direct but circumstances have dictated that she will spend a night at a depot in the Netherlands en route.
“It’s a long haul to Newmarket but I think we have just enough time to get her to the Breeders’ Cup.”
Laird added that he kept Smart Call on the move while in Mauritius, utilising the island’s Champs Des Mars racecourse for sporadic workouts, as well as swimming her in the sea. Pictures of her island paradise holiday adorn the trainer’s Facebook page.
He went on: “I would say she has 50%. It’s a very short track they have in Mauritius but we were able to exercise her and keep her in some sort of condition.
“We should know by September if she’s definitely going to the Breeders’ Cup and I want to give her a prep in the Group 1 Sun Chariot which will be something new for her. In a race like that we’ll find out if she’s good enough.”