In a perfect world, Sheeza Belter wouldn’t be at Rosehill on Saturday, but the group 2 Hot Danish Stakes has proven the ideal fallback position for a filly that could still be the best of her generation.
Paul Snowden is confident Sheeza Belter can beat the older mares in the Hot Danish Stakes at Rosehill on Saturday. Credit:Getty
While the fillies have been the stars of the three-year-old class this spring – think In Secret, Zougotcha and She’s Extreme – Sheeza Belter has been forced to bide her time.
A series of slight setbacks and then wet tracks played against the daughter of Gold Standard, restricting her to just the one start in The Invitation, where she was game but never got a chance to get into the race, finishing eighth on the inferior ground near the fence.
“The plan was to be in Melbourne for some of the group 1 races, but it just wasn’t possible,” co-trainer Paul Snowden said. “We had a couple of little problems with her and they just set us back a bit, and we took a bit of care because she doesn’t like wet tracks.
“It worked out well that she got a run in The Invitation, where, considering the ground, I thought she was very good because she didn’t get much room until the last 100m.
“She has the benefit of that run, and she’s ready to take on these older mares again.
“I think she’ll show how good she is, particularly back on a firm track with no weight.”
Sheeza Belter has scored her four wins on good tracks, including the BRC Sires Produce Stakes and the group 1 JJ Atkins Stakes during the Brisbane winter.
Snowden admitted to frustration at not being able to test the former Western Australian filly earlier in the spring, but it gives him something to look forward to next year.
“She is a tough filly because she had a long two-year-old year, including a float trip from Perth, so she earned the break after Brisbane,” Snowden said. “But she had come back; so well, we were confident that she would have been a player in group 1s this spring.
“We never got to see that, but there is still the Magic Millions and next year.
“It sort of works out for her because at the 1400m she is suited by the tempo and she can show her turn of foot, which wins her races.
“She is the fresh horse in this race and is improving.”
Sheeza Belter is the $4 second pick behind Invitation runner-up Electric Girl ($3) in the Hot Danish, which should be run on her preferred firmer track.
Meanwhile, Ross McConville will have his first runners, Either Oar and Main Stage, after taking over the Kembla Grange stable of Gwenda Markwell, who died last week after a battle with cancer.
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