Trainer Simon Miller is happy with the 2014 Railway Stakes lead-up form of Platinum Rocker and believes that the talented mare is performing just as well as she was 12 months ago when she finished second behind Luckygray in the Group 1 event.

Platinum Rocker was denied a maiden win at Group 1 level by Luckygray (pictured) in the 2013 edition of the Railway Stakes. Photo by: Taron Clarke

Platinum Rocker was sent to the spelling paddock after she finished at the tail of the field in the Group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 21 and she returned to the races with a fifth place finish in the Group 3 Prince Of Wales Stakes (1200m) at Ascot on October 25 before she finished third behind Winterbottom Stakes contender Magnifisio in the Group 2 Lee Steere Stakes (1400m) at the same venue on November 8.

Miller admits that the Railway Stakes lead-up form of Platinum Rocker does not look as impressive as it did before last year’s race, but he told Racing Ahead this morning that he is thrilled with the condition of the Love A Dane mare and is confident that she will be more than competitive in the Group 1 event at Ascot on Saturday.

“She probably hasn’t captured the audience as she did 12 months ago when she was winning on route to the Railway, but she is not a weight-for-age horse,” Miller said.

“She ran second in the Railway last year after winning the lead-up races and her rating go pretty high, so this time in I had to put her on a weight-for-age campaign.

“Weight-for-age sorts the men from the boys and she is definitely not a weight-for-age horse, but getting down to the handicap again down on the minimum is good.

“She is going equally as good as last year when she ran second and last year she jumped from 15 and this year she will jump from 7.

“It is almost like there is a bit of sense of timing and she has just really sharpened up from that last run.

“This year is not as strong as last year, so there are a lot of positives for her.

“I wouldn’t swap her for any of the other ones.”

Miller is chasing his first win in the Railway Stakes after finishing second with Platinum Rocker last year and sixth with River Mist in 2003.

Platinum Rocker is currently available at 2014 Railway Stakes odds of $19, but was available at an almost identical price before running second in the race last year.