My Elle Belle for Subratie feature
MY ELLE BELLE has a great record running out of the mile chute and should make it four wins from six attempts in this afternoon’s Errol ‘Big Sub’ Subratie Memorial.
The United States-bred threeyear-old filly enjoys the long backstretch where she is able to relax, watch the airheads on the lead and make her move entering the straight, before producing a telling last-furlong kick when most are tiring.
In her five races out of the chute, only COMMANDER TWO and SUPER SPARKLE, both lonespeeds on the day, have ever got away from MY ELLE BELLE.
A fast finisher, the American appears to have the ‘Big Sub’ Memorial set-up for her to mow down the speedsters in the stretch run. SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS, ROYAL VIBES and BIRDIE MY LOVE are expected to hog the lead, alternating as far as their respective stamina limitations will carry them.
Super-light at 110lb, MY ELLE BELLE is better than fellow closers BRUCE WAYNE, SUPERTRONICS, BIBLICAL LEGEND, and certainly has the stamina to outfinish any of the speedsters, who might be hanging around inside the last furlong.
Last time out, MY ELLE BELLE gave it away at the start on October 13, raring at the gate and violently swerving on landing, causing Oneil Scott to lose his stirrup, which he managed to get his leg back into at the round mile.
However, the filly was too thrown-off by the incident and never got into the race, finishing fifth behind FRANCIA’S PRIDE, SUPERTRONICS and BRUCE WAYNE.
Returning at a mile, MY ELLE BELLE renews rivalry with four runners from the nine-furlong and 25-yard race, for which she was made the 6-5 favourite to complete back-to-back wins, after impressively collaring LICI’S PEPSI at seven and a half furlongs in September.
SUPERTRONICS, BRUCE WAYNE, SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS and BIBLICAL LEGEND, Gary Subratie’s hopes of winning the trophy named after his father for a second time, all ran admirably behind FRANCIA’S PRIDE but none had an excuse not to win.
On the contrary, MY ELLE BELLE’s horrible start, drawn outside at gate 10, compounded by the fact that Scott had lost his stirrup, forced the chestnut filly wide at the clubhouse turn, a Bermuda Triangle from which very few horses ever recover at nine furlongs and 25 yards.
Bad luck aside in September, reverting to the backstretch moves the ‘Big Sub’ Memorial into MY ELLE BELLE’s territory, her three victories coming out of the mile chute – a pair of sevenand-a-halves and a one-miler in which she closed on splits of 23.1, 45.4 and 1:11.0 to blow past HONEYT RYDA and MY SUUGARMAN on June 16.