Frustrating 3YO Hellish continues to live up to his name
Hellish by name, hellish for his connections and backers.
The third at Ararat on Friday, a 1306m maiden, saw the Danny O'Brien-trained Hellish rolled by less than a length for the fourth time in his short but frustrating career.
The now nine-start maiden looked home and hosed when he skipped clear in the straight, passing the 100m mark with a two-length margin on Amahlosi.
However, not for the first time, the son of Hellbent shortened stride at the business end to be nailed on the post as a $2.15 favourite.
Hellish has now been beaten at single-figure odds in eight of his nine starts and at $3 or shorter on five occasions.Amahlosi claims Hellish in the shadows of the post to win the third at Ararat œ…@EoinWalsh3pic.twitter.com/WKXcr8gr78
- Racing.com (@Racing) April 26, 2024
His rap sheet includes defeats at $1.80, $1.30 and $1.70 in maidens at Bendigo, Kyneton and Geelong.
Liam Riordan (59kg)
Danny O'Brien
3yoG (b) Hellbent x Andromache
Career
10 1-2-2
Earnings
$85,415
Wins
10%
Places
50%
Last 10
10 1-2-2
Win Range
1300m
1st up
4 0-1-1
2nd up
3 0-0-1
Dist
3 1-1-1
Track
1 0-1-0
Trk/Dist
1 0-1-0
Jockey
5 1-1-1
Firm
0 0-0-0
Good
7 0-2-1
Soft
2 0-0-1
Heavy
0 0-0-0
It has been a case of vastly differing fortunes for the first four horses home in the Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) of 2022, with the winner Krakarib last seen finishing fourth as a $1.90 favourite in a BM58 Handicap at Gatton.
Third-placegetter Awestruck hasn't raced since, while fourth-placed Hellish obviously remains a maiden.
However, the runner-up Little Brose went on to win the Group 1 Blue Diamond (1200m) three starts later, before being transferred to David Hayes' Hong Kong stable.
Little Brose is set to make his HK debut this Sunday in the Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Price (1200m) at Sha Tin.
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