Punters had very little to worry about when hot favourite Botti romped to victory at Pukekohe over 1200m on Wednesday on debut.
The son of
Jakkalberry is a three-quarter brother to Lion Tamer, and the Murray Baker and
Andrew Forsman-trained two-year-old will now be set on a path to emulate his
Gr.1 VRC Derby (2500m) winning sibling.
"It's always hard to know how things are going to pan out in a four-horse field, but it did work out exactly the way we wanted it to," Andrew Forsman said.
"It gave the horse a bit of confidence and when he asked him for an effort he let down nicely.
"He's a lovely horse and the more he does, the better he is going to get. I am really excited about what's ahead.
With classic potential, the Cambridge stable will now plot a course to ready the youngster for the looming Melbourne spring carnival.
"It's not easy coming off a short run," Forsman said.
"It's June, he's just won his first race and there is not a lot of money in the bank. He'll probably have a couple of weeks off now, have a bit of a freshen-up and he might have to have a look at something like the Wanganui Guineas to try and get a bit of money in the bank. If he can measure up in that sort of race, you can think about perhaps heading to Melbourne."
Winning rider Matthew Cameron was also excited by the future of the gelding.
"It's hard to take these races as a form-line as he only beat three rivals and the track is bottomless, but the feel he gave me and the turn of foot he's got is brilliant," Cameron said.
Botti's sire Jakkalberry stood at Novara Park for four seasons until his sudden death from a bout of colic earlier this year. The first-crop of the Group One-winning son of Storming Home have made a favourable impression and include Group Three placegetter Thomas Aquinas. – NZ Racing Desk
