One Direction - to Turffontein

30 March 2015 - 02:01 By Mike Moon

There's only one direction to take tomorrow afternoon. What? Who? I hear thousands of high-pitched voices squealing: "To Soccer City to see the biggest band in the world!"Actually, I was referring to Turffontein, just around the corner from said stadium.At Turfies it's Classic Day, a huge race meeting. It's also Dubai World Cup night, which overlaps the local programme. This makes tomorrow one of the most anticipated race days of the year, with high-quality action from midday until late at night.It's absorbing, single-minded stuff for aficionados; even One Direction couldn't get 'em to change course.Someone said One Direction were as big as The Beatles, so I felt obliged to find out more about these callow fellows. The band was put together by pop Svengali Simon Cowell, who'd noticed a dearth of bands "for teenaged girls to throw their knickers at" - as explained by Telegraph writer Isabel Mohan.We had one of those in the 1960s, called The Monkees, created by music moguls as an American challenge to The Beatles.When their origins came to light the poor blokes were vilified as "plastic" - though they did produce nice songs. We were authenticity snobs back then.I looked up some One Direction lyrics. Here's one: "I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks." For no particular reason, I thought of John Lennon's lyric for Across The Universe: "Words are flowing out / Like endless rain into a paper cup / They slither while they pass / They slip away across the universe."The big One Direction news is Zayn Malik quitting the band and flooding social media in teenage tears. Even fellow One Directioneer Harry Styles was drizzing on stage in Indonesia this week - as he glanced at the spot once occupied by Zayn.Shame. But Harry's a sensitive young chap, so no shame really.There's an even younger chap - Harry's Son, in fact - in the spotlight at Turfies tomorrow. The three-year-old cruised to a superb win in the Guineas last month and now tackles the second leg of the Triple Crown, the R2-million SA Classic.The task for the well-travelled Durban colt is more difficult this time, with tougher opposition and a 200m step up in distance being a crucial factor for students of form.Notably, Ertijaal, impressive victor in the Cape Derby, is in the lineup. Unbeaten in four, the Mike de Kock runner is favourite at evens, with Harry's Son at 9/2.De Kock is, of course, the focus of our attention at Meydan in Dubai. He doesn't have a runner in the main event, the World Cup itself, but has seven runners on a night that offers $30-million in prize money.His best chances seem to be with Mubtaahij in the UAE Derby and Via Africa in the Al Quoz Sprint.Mubtaahij's chief opponent is Maftool, who's by Hard Spun, who is also the father of Ertijaal, the principal rival of Harry's Son.There must be a portent in there somewhere. You just have to join the dots with the freckles...

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