Entirely Platinum will make his long-awaited debut at 2400 metres in the 2015 Mornington Cup and co-trainer Wayne Hawkes is keen to see how the talented galloper handles the step-up in trip.
Entirely Platinum is one of several winning chances in the 2015 Mornington Cup this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
Team Hawkes were keen to run Entirely Platinum in the Group 1 Caulfield Cup (2400m) last year, but he narrowly missed out on a start in the race after he finished second behind Gris Caro in the Group 3 Naturalism Stakes (2000m) and he has not had a subsequent opportunity to run over 2400 metres.
Entirely Platinum started his autumn campaign with credible performances in the Group 1 Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 14 and the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 28 before he toughed it out on a very strong speed in the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m).
Hawkes told Racing Ahead that he was happy with the performance of Entirely Platinum in the Australian Cup and he is confident that the Pentire gelding can win the Mornington Cup if he handles the tight Mornington track and runs out a strong 2400 metres.
“It certainly was brutal and he probably should have just let them go a bit and come back a couple of lengths because they were just flying at the front,” Hawkes said.
“He was in front with about 300 metres left to go and he only punctured late on the line.
“It is certainly a drop back in class, but he has got plenty of weight and the biggest thing about him is to see if he can run the mile and a half.
“This time last year I was thinking that he was going to be a Caulfield Cup horse, but at the start of this campaign we were sort of umming and ahhing whether he was going to get out to the trip.
“He is not good enough for The BMW, so where else do you run these sort of horses?
“The biggest question mark for him will be around the tight Mornington track because he has raced great at Caulfield, but he doesn’t like the tight track there.
“He is certainly good enough to win and he can win, but I am just questioning the tightness of the track.”
Entirely Platinum is currently available at 2015 Mornington Cup odds of $6 with Ladbrokes, while Darren Weir-trained Akzar ($4.60) is a narrow favourite from last start winner Index Linked ($6) and market mover Don Doremo ($6).
