SOURCE: JAMES TZAFERIS, racing.com /
They went agonisingly close to top-flight success during their respective autumn campaigns and Darren Weir is confident talented sprinters Hellbent and Voodoo Lad can fulfill their Group 1 promise this spring.
Weir was on hand to watch both horses gallop at Ballarat on Monday and confirmed they would resume at The Valley on Saturday week, with connections eyeing either the Group 2 McEwen Stakes (1000m) or the Listed Chandler Macleod Stakes (1200m) for a first-up assignment.
While Voodoo Lad has the form on the board with multiple stakes wins and a placing in this year’s Newmarket Handicap (1200m), Weir believes Hellbent can emerge as a legitimate sprinting star over the coming months.
The five-year-old entire boasts six wins from his 17 starts and came of age last preparation with a runner-up placing in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) and a fourth placing in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m).
“Both horses are really good and they’ll kick off on Saturday week,” Weir said.
“They’ve both got a lot of ability and I’m really keen to get Hellbent back to the races because I think there’s a really good race in him somewhere.
“He is a really high class galloper and a beautiful type of horse too so hopefully he can show us what he’s got this preparation.”
Hellbent was ridden by Dean Yendall in Monday’s gallop, while Mark Zahra took the reins aboard Voodoo Lad.
