Getting behind this unknown quantity could prove a smart call

Alice Springs is a short-priced favourite for today’s Group 1 Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes (4.00) and may well win, but she doesn’t poke her head in front that often for a horse of her ability and if you’re a value seeker surely the horse you have to back is the South African raider Smart Call.

Obviously not many of us will have even heard of her, but a bit of digging reveals she is not only a high-class mare but possibly the best horse in South Africa at the moment.

Indeed, while Alec Laird’s five-year-old is the current champion older filly or mare in the country, she also topped the champion middle-distance horse category – which includes the boys.