The John O’Shea camp believes Hell I Am and Shalailed will be hard to beat on the Gold Coast in January after their one-two finish in the $100,000 Magic Millions Wyong 3YO & 4YO Stakes on Wednesday.
Hell I Am was simply too strong inside the final furlong after a typically brilliant ride from champion jockey James McDonald.
The gelding went on to put away his stablemate by 1 ½ lengths in the 1200m race.
But also don’t write off Shalailed – with $26 odds for the Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas on January 14 – after Wednesday’s performance.
2022 Magic Millions Wyong 3YO & 4YO Stakes – Hell I Am (1st)
“They’ve both got a long way to go till their grand final, so I wouldn’t write off the second horse,” O’Shea’s foreman Alex Maher told Sky Racing.
“But they’re both very nice horses.
“Willie Pike rode this horse (Shalailed) a fair bit, and he said ‘I can’t wait until he gets on top of the surface’.
“They’ll have one more run before the Goldy, and their grand final is the Gold Coast.”
Maher was delighted with both Hell I Am’s run and McDonald’s ride.
The three-year-old is now an $8 chance with betting sites heading into the 2023 Magic Millions Raceday on the Glitter Strip.
“What a ride. I didn’t expect him to be there,” Maher said.
“Even James said ‘I’ll have to suck up our medicine and go back’.
“But when Resonator missed the start, it all panned out pretty well.”
Maher said Hell I Am’s maturity has been a big factor in him now boasting four wins from eight starts.
“I’ve never seen him saddle up like he has. He might’ve grown up a bit,” she said.
“I think he’s a lot more mature.”
McDonald echoed Maher’s thoughts on how fast Hell I Am has developed mentally.
“He was first-up and only off one soft trial,” he said.
“He’s come on immensely, and he felt terrific on that ground as well.
“He’s only come up on very heavy testing ground, but he’s a lovely horse.”
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