The beautiful Morgan Deane Smith
Cape Thoroughbred Sales have been responsible for innovation and a whole new approach to the generally staid business of marketing thoroughbred racehorses recently. The appointment of their new Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes Ambassador Morgan Deane Smith has to rank amongst their snappiest moves yet and the beautiful former Irish pop star turned heads at her first official function on Thursday last week.
Morgan hosted the well attended Lanzerac Ready to Run Stakes Barrier Draw at the Lanzerac Hotel & Spa in Stellenbosch and mingled with the movers and shakers of the local racing fraternity as if she had been in the game most of her life.
The draw was held to allocate barrier positions for the second running of the R2 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes which is being run over 1400m at Kenilworth on Saturday.
We probably really don’t need to advertise that the glamorous Morgan is the wife of the former SA cricket captain and the 29 year old is keen to carve out an independent career for herself after the birth of her two children recently.
The couple live in the Cape Town Southern Suburbs and Morgan made the first move to reviving her singing career when she qualified for the final stages of the SA Idols recently.
She was born in County Cork on 1 May 1985 and grew up as one of four children. She says that while horseracing is ingrained in the Irish culture, her exposure to the game early on was limited to her Dad’s annual bet on the Irish Grand National.
“I recall the excitement generated by the big race and us kids shouting my Dad’s horse home. The whole town was talking about the big race and it was a massive event,” she said.
Morgan was a member of the band Industry, who had two number one hits in Ireland and she also made waves on Simon Cowell’s X-Factor show.
She was appointed by CTS through horseracing journalist Simon Burgess and his link with leading owner Bryn Ressell.
“Bryn and Graeme are friends and it sounded like a great idea and an ideal platform. I have enjoyed it and love the interaction with people against the background of the sport and the social glamour,” she said.
Graeme Smith has moved from the playing fields into the corporate world. He is employed by Momentum.
“Graeme is a well read and highly intelligent person who is relishing the new challenges facing him in the corporate environment. The only thing is that when I say goodbye to him in the mornings, it strikes me just how that suit and tie ages him ten years!” she laughed.
Morgan’s CTS role includes appearances, promotion of the Lanzerac Ready to Run Stakes race and its associated events and she will also act as a judge of the Lanzerac Best Dressed Couple competition at Kenilworth on Saturday.
The winning couple will win a trip for two to the 2015 Investec Epsom Derby including flights, accommodation and hospitality compliments of Investec, Cape Thoroughbred Sales and Jacqueline Kolbe Millenary.
Morgan will be dressed on Saturday by Gavin Rajah.
She recently released her brand new single, ‘Take Me On The Floor’, which is receiving airplay on major radio stations.
She wrote the song but assured us that there is no deeper meaning in the composition.
“It is just a happy, funky get on the dance floor song,” she laughed.
