Racing
Fully Lit win forces Bott into rethink
Adrian Bott could reassess his plan to spell Fully Lit following the horse’s comprehensive win.
Adrian Bott is tempted to press on with the campaign of Fully Lit after the former smart two-year-old recaptured winning form with a dominant performance at Rosehill.
The winner of the 2024 Inglis Millennium, Fully Lit had been struggling to produce his best in five runs this preparation and while he'd had excuses, Bott expected Saturday's Precise Air Handicap (1400m) to see him out for the preparation.
However, the gelding has put a spanner in the works, annihilating his opposition by 5-1/4 lengths and giving Bott pause for thought.
"I came here today thinking that may just be the end of the prep having had a few runs, being deep into the campaign and hitting a few heavy tracks," Bott said.
"Maybe we've got to look at something if he's only just starting to hit his straps now. We will see how he does.
"He hadn't quite recaptured that two-year-old form yet, which does sometimes take them a season or two, but I feel he is ready to go on with it now and I'm sure he'll take a bit of confidence from it."
Bott said they had tinkered with Fully Lit's gear and distances and felt the decision to take his blinkers off two starts ago had been a factor in his bounce-back.
"He just got up over-racing when he was outside the lead two starts ago. He was too fierce within himself, particularly going up to this sort of trip," he said.
Ridden by Adam Hyeronimus, Fully Lit started $12 and downed Anythink Goes ($14) with Puntin ($6) third.
While Bott said there would be no "lofty targets" for the winner, he was keen to see him continue to work through the grades.
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