The Greg Eurell-trained Ilovemyself was well-supported to make a winning career debut in Saturday’s Listed Very Special Kids Plate (1000m) at Flemington but it looked bleak for his supporters when Damien Oliver found himself in a zip-fastener pocket with 100 metres left to run.
But once he found clear air Ilovemyself let down impressively to put three-quarters of a length on the well-performed Night Of Thunder filly River Night with the Snitzel filly Time Is Precious the same distance back in third.
Eurell said he had not ruled out a shot at the Golden Slipper for the handsome son of Ilovethiscity.
"It's certainly a possibility," Eurell told racing.com.
"The Pago Pago is on in a fortnight and we'll seriously think about contesting it.
"The heartbeat started to get a lot stronger when he couldn't get any room there.
"Once he did start to stretch out, he's a very tough horse and it was a matter of hoping the line didn't come up too quick.
"It was a bit gut-wrenching. It would have been disappointing to lose it that way.
"I believe he would be better suited to the 1200 metres so it might be worth sneaking up there and seeing what he can do."
Ilovemyself is a homebred for Larneuk Stud Neville Murdoch who would have to stump up $150,000 for a late entry fee into the Slipper.
"The late entry fee is a bit of a sticky one but if we can get some more prizemoney it'll help me push him to get him in the race," Eurell said.
A son of the Larnauk Stud resident Ilovethiscity, Ilovemyself is out of the unraced Xaar mare Sunstyle who was purchased for just $700 out of the Vinery Stud draft at the 2014 Inglis Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale.
Though the pedigree had been devoid of a stakes-winner for many generations, Sunstyle has proven to be a consistent producer with five winners from six foals to race.
She has a yearling filly by Cluster and a colt foal by Wolf’s Cry and was bred back to the that son of Street’s Cry again last spring.
Ilovemyself becomes the third stakes-winner for Ilovethiscity whose yearlings will be in short supply with just 15 live foals from his crop of 2018 although he covered 70 mares that year and 59 last year at a fee of $5,500.
