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Botany shines on wet Cranbourne track

3 minute read

Despite not handling the wet Cranbourne surface, Botany has posted a first-up win.

BOTANY winning the Silks Cranbourne BM64 Handicap in Cranbourne, Australia. Picture: Racing Photos

Botany may not be one of the big names in the Peter Moody stable, but the mare does hold a special place within the yard. 

The daughter of American Pharoah, a $150,000 buy, was one of the first yearlings Moody purchased when he returned to training ranks. 

A Bairnsdale maiden winner on debut, Botany collected her second victory from three starts when taking out the Silks Cranbourne Handicap (1200m) at Cranbourne on Wednesday. 

Ridden by Luke Nolen, Botany ($3.50) scored by 1-½ lengths from Rich Divinity ($11) with McKeever ($6.50) a further 2-¾ lengths away third. 

Moody said Botany was not suited by the extremely heavy conditions on Wednesday and hopes the four-year-old is not flattened by her first-up win. 

"You just have to hope they come through a run like that, so we'll probably give her time to get over it, make sure she recovers well," Moody told racing.com. 

"She's a filly, whether it's in the spring or more so the autumn, she's got a nice race in her. 

"We purchased her privately. The (Coolmore) boys up there, they stayed in her and we syndicated about three-quarters of her with stable clients. 

"I think she was one of the first yearlings I bought when I came back to training, so it's nice to get a result and I think we can grow on it." 

Nolen cut the corner as other riders scouted wide on the Cranbourne track and he said that was the difference between winning and losing. 

"I was going to track wide and come around them, but I wasn't going well enough to do that, so I cut back inside them," Nolen said. 

"I was able to blend into the race without having to flatten her and she's won pretty comfortably without ever handling the track at any stage. 

"It was an encouraging win."