Further Queensland targets are instore for Palmerston North sprinter Platinum Pantheon following his runner-up effort in the Listed Queensland Day Stakes (1200m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
The three-year-old son of Hanseatic booked his ticket across the Tasman following his second placing in the Gr.3 Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) at Te Rapa on ANZAC Day, with his first two runs in Australia producing sixth placings in the Gr.3 Gold Coast Guineas (1200m) and Gr.3 Fred Best Classic (1400m).
Trainer Lisa Latta then took aim at the Queensland Day Stakes with her exciting gelding and he impressed her when storming home late to come within three-quarters of a length of winner Earn To Burn.
“He ended up going back, which is where we thought he would be,” Latta said. “He had to weave his way through them and didn’t quite get to the outside when he needed to, but he finished off fantastic.
“Mark (Du Plessis, jockey) thinks he is a pretty smart horse.”
Buoyed by Platinum Pantheon’s performance, Latta is electing to press on further into his Queensland winter campaign.
“We would be flat getting into the first Group One sprint of the season (in New Zealand) at the moment, so we are probably better to push forward a little bit on this side and give him a nice spell over here and then bring him back,” Latta said.
“There is a nice 1350 at Ipswich in a fortnight and we will look to head there next.”
Latta said Platinum Pantheon has enjoyed the warmer climes of Brisbane and is planning on bringing him back to Queensland next year.
“He is thriving over here, and the trip will be the making of him,” she said. “Hopefully we can come back here next year and aim for some really nice races.” – LOVERACING.NZ News Desk
