Bela-Bela has huge public appeal in the R5-million The Sun Met celebrated with Mumm (Grade 1) over 2000m at Kenilworth on Saturday. She’s only the 11-1 sixth favourite in the race, but this pretty-as-a-picture grey captures the imagination of many. She’s the only female in the field and she’s hugely talented.

Her trainer Justin Snaith is happy to draw a comparison with another more famous grey filly – his one-time charge Dancer’s Daughter, who dead-heated for first with Pocket Power in the Durban July in 2008 and went on to run a neck second to him in the Met in 2009. That was one of the affable Cape trainer’s near misses in a race he has yet to win.

He said: “Our bloodstock agent John Freeman was crazy about Bela-Bela at the National Two-Year-Old Sale, and so was my dad Chris and brother Jono – the team who select my horses so well. When we lost her to the Kalmanson’s Varsfontein Stud in the bidding process John suggested we go right over and ask Susan Rowett if I could train her. Jono did and the rest is history, as they say. And Bela-Bela’s an absolute darling.”

He said he’d got the same feeling when Dancer’s Daughter came in. “They are very similar horses, two peas in a pod. In fact I’ve never seen two good fillies so similar. And I train them the same, keep them happy, give them grooms they trust and love – and grooms who love and trust them. They get put in paddocks with their mates in the afternoon and go to the beach. We treat them like the champions they are.”

Snaith is not a romantic when it comes to his horses and knows Bela-Bela has a tough task in the Met, with Legal Eagle being so much better weighted under the conditions.

However, he said: “Make no mistake, she’s a very good filly – the best filly in the country – and she can beat a good colt any day of the week. She’s doing well and I think she will be in the firing line.”

Bela-Bela, of course, is a dual Grade 1 winner, having beaten her own sex in both the Woolavington 2000 last year and the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes this month.

She was very young the last time she found herself pitted against the best males in the Durban July last year and, under sufferance at the weights, ran a great race to finish only 2.65 lengths off winner The Conglomerate.

“Now she’s six months older and stronger. I thought she put in the best workout of the day on Thursday last week when all the Met runners had public gallops. She had no grass gallop into the Paddock Stakes and will strip a much fitter horse on Saturday.

“She’s just chilling this week and will have her final sprint-up tomorrow (Thursday) morning. She’s ready,” said Snaith.

Bela-Bela is not the only horse he will be counting on in the Met. He also sends It’s My Turn and Baritone into battle alongside their prettier stablemate.

He warned against the belief that Bela-Bela is Snaith Racing’s stable elect because “in the Met anything can happen”.

It’s My Turn won last year’s Investec Cape Derby, which was held a week before Met Day, surprising his trainer. “He’s always surprised me, this horse,” admitted Snaith. “First in the Derby and then when I took him to Durban in the Daily News 2000, when he shouldn’t have got beaten. He then ran fourth in the Durban July when things didn’t go his way. He’s pulled up beautifully with every run and there’s no reason he shouldn’t surprise us again.

It’s My Turn has put in two nice preparatory runs in the preliminaries, placing behind Whisky Baron over 1500m and 1800m respectively.

“He’s the dark horse in the race,” said Snaith. “He had to have a fetlock operation after finishing fourth in the Durban July last year and his whole programme has been driving towards the Met.

“He only had one gallop on his own going into his first run back and no gallop at all going into the Peninsular Handicap next time and he’s getting better and better.

“He’s definitely underrated compared to some of the horses in the race and he’s got the right jockey in Piere Strydom, who knows him well.”

“He’s an uncomplicated fellow with a nice draw and will run his race. He could easily be in the shake up.

“Baritone is a hard horse to assess and has it all to prove, but if you give Captain America a chance, you’ve got to give him a chance.”

Snaith saddled a record eight winners on Met Day last year and with 38 runners at this meeting he could again have a great day. When asked if there was a possibility of a repeat, he joked: “I’d be happy with half that.”

So who does he like most of all his runners? “Ovidio is my best bet in the R400,000 The Blue Label Telecoms Cape Stayers (Grade 2) over 2800m and African Night Sky has a good eachway shout in the $500,000 CTS Mile.”

TABNews