Patience pays off with Santa Ana Moon

The connections of Santa Ana Moon finally got their reward after a long wait, as the colt captured his maiden win in the Sportsbet Jockey Watch Plate (1200m) at Sandown.

Prepared by Leon and Troy Corstens in partnership with Will Larkin, the three-year-old overcame early career interruptions to secure his breakthrough victory on Wednesday.

Santa Ana Moon debuted at Cranbourne last spring, showing early promise, but was soon sidelined by a knee issue that required surgery and kept him off the track for over six months.

“He was preparing very well leading into his first campaign, and we would have liked to have got some racing into him as a young horse,” Larkin said.

“These things happen, but we’ve looked after him and he’s looked after us today.

“He needed a bit of surgery to clean out a knee, but outside of that he’s come back very well, and he’s handled everything since he’s been back in work.

“It’s been a faultless preparation, so it’s good to get it off with a win.”

Racing as the $2.15 market elect on betting apps, Santa Ana Moon, ridden by Ben Allen, held on for a gritty half-length victory over Bakersbend, with Oceanella close behind in third.

Larkin said he was impressed with the colt’s tenacity, especially given the less-than-ideal run he had during the race.

“Being a new horse, they can be a little bit timid at times and whether he was going to take that gap was a question mark,” Larkin said.

“But he went through it well, and I think there is a few more gears that he wasn’t giving us today.

“We won’t go putting too much in front of him yet. The horse is still learning his craft and there’s still a lot to come from him mentally.

“If mentally he can catch up to what he is physically, then we’ll look to step him up.”