Power-packed Met a spectacle to remember

The Cape Town Met is a much-storied horse race, but seldom in its almost 140 renewals can it have had a line-up as talented and competitive as today’s.

Only 11 go to post for the R1-million Grade 1 contest over 2 000m, but pundits are in broad agreement that only two of those have zero chance of winning. Connections of Sovereign Spirit and Silver Operator might disagree with this assessment, but, honestly, if either were to win it would be up there with the biggest shocks ever seen at Kenilworth racecourse.

Belgarion, Rainbow Bridge, Do It Again and Queen Supreme are simply too good and too consistent to all fail on the day. And, if they somehow do, the likes of Golden Ducat, African Night Sky and Running Brave will be the ones to take advantage.

Durban July 2020 winner Belgarion tops the bookmakers’ boards at 16-10, which seems a tad short in such awesome company. This punter enthusiasm is driven by the Justin Snaith-trained gelding’s two most recent outings – a brilliant win in the Green Point Stakes after a five-month layoff and a running-on third in the Queen’s Plate.

Snaith and jockey Richard Fourie are brimming with confidence, reporting their charge as “flying” in his work.

One factor against Belgarion is his barrier draw of 11 out of 11. Being trapped at the rear of the field as it gets stretched around the turn can test the resolution of the speediest finishers, particularly if there’s a headwind.

What does one say about the redoubtable Rainbow Bridge and Do It Again?

The six-year-old adversaries are rated the best two horses in South Africa and the reason is stellar performances. Suspicions lurk that the two are past their best, but you wouldn’t put money on it. Both will be at peak fitness for Cape Town’s premier race and neither would be a surprise winner.

Five-year-old mare Queen Supreme has the strongest case of the three females in the race, having annexed the recent Paddock Stakes for a second year in succession in emphatic style. She has a 2.5kg weight pull on the top boys, which could be telling in a close finish.

What a fairy-tale story it will be for Running Brave’s trainer Fanie Bronkhorst if he were to pull off the Met. He has had a training licence for barely three months and has shown admirable courage in trucking his star all the way from Randjesfontein to Kenilworth to take on the biggest guns in the land.

The 2021 Cape Town Met will be a spectacle to remember for many a year. Unmissable for the racing purist.

▶ The action will be carried live on Tellytrack, DStv channel 249.