SOURCE: BRAD WATERS, Racenet /
Hellbent showed the simplest things can make all the difference with his win in Friday night’s Group I William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.
Hellbent finished a narrow second to Silent Sedition last year but powered home under jockey Craig Williams to beat the front-runner Thronum to claim his maiden Group I win.
Weir said Hellbent spent hours staring at a wall but the stallion was much easier to handle before his William Reid Stakes triumph.
“Tonight he was in the best mood he has ever been in. He found a spot out the back where he was happy and he was looking at the wall,” Weir said.
“The strapper didn’t have much of a night because he just stood there for three hours just looking at the wall.
“The horse wasn’t doing anything wrong so I just said, ‘leave him there’, so hats off to the crew. They found a spot to keep him happy.
“He saddled up great. Normally he was very hard to saddle so he was just in a better mood and raced great.”
The relaxed Hellbent settled closer than Weir expected but the son of I Am Invincible had to work into the race without a trail from the 500m.
Hellbent ($10) sprinted well off the corner to score by a half-length over Thronum ($8) while Catchy ($15) made ground in the straight to run third, another length away.
“He’s a horse with an enormous amount of ability and a great sort of horse too. It was great to finally get the result that the horse deserves,” Weir said.
“He really let down great for a couple of hundred metres and got the result, it was great.”
