3 minute read
Lee Curtis is hoping the decision to take the easier road will pay big dividends when new addition Wild Botanica lines up at Kembla Grange on Thursday.
Wild Botanica ($4.60 on TAB) was in the Ranvet Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m) at Warwick Farm on Wednesday before being scratched from the event to target the Shoalhaven Heads Bowling Club & Rec Club Midway Class 1 Handicap (1200m).
The promising filly is having just her second start for Curtis, who trains in partnership with his wife Cherie, and the stable is keen to get a first win on the board for the new yard.
Wild Botanica was formerly trained by Kacy Fogden, who tested the filly in a Group 3 Gimcrack Stakes on debut where she finished 5-3/4 lengths off the speedy Coolangatta.
The daughter of Spieth won once in five starts for the trainer before she was sold by Aquis and transferred under new ownership to the Curtis yard.
The Curtis stable tested Wild Botanica in town at her first start for the new yard and the filly gave a good account of herself when sitting outside the lead, eventually finishing fourth in an 1150m event on the Kensington Track.
"I thought the first-up run was good," Lee Curtis said. "If she had drawn better, I think she would have run a place but she just had to do a bit too much work early.
"We gave her a few trials and this is only her first prep with us but I think she has plenty of upside.
"We nearly ran her on Wednesday but thought we may as well go down there for a weaker race."
Wild Botanica has drawn well for her second assignment in barrier three in a field of nine runners at Kembla. Group 1-winning jockey Jay Ford will take the ride with Curtis expecting Wild Botanica to land somewhere near the lead again.
"She is a bit of a jump and run type and I would expect her from a good gate to be close enough on Thursday," he said. "I won't tell Jay (Ford) to lead on her but she will probably drag him up towards the first couple.
"She was a bit of a hard going filly when we got her but we took the blinkers off her to get her to relax a bit."
Racing kicks off at 12.50pm on Thursday with seven events across the afternoon.
