Talented mare Platelet has been scratched from the 2015 Robert Sangster Stakes at Morphettville on Saturday after she was found with heat in her fetlock yesterday afternoon.
Group 1 winning mare Platelet has been ruled out of the Robert Sangster Stakes and may have run the final race of her career. Photo by: Adrienne Bicknell
Platelet was set to contest the Robert Sangster Stakes for the third year in a row following her upset win over Snitzerland in 2013 and brave second behind Driefontein 12 months ago, but trainer Darren Weir told Racing.com yesterday that he had been forced to scratch Strategic mare and he revealed that her racing career is now at a crossroads.
“She’s been such a good horse to us, we didn’t want to take any risks with her,” Weir said.
“I’ll have to speak with the owner (Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock’s Darren Dance) about what we do from here going forward.”
Platelet made her racing debut with a second place finish in August of 2011 in Echuca and in recent years has stamped herself as one of the most consistent sprinting mares in the country.
She scored her maiden win at Group level when she took out the Group 3 Thoroughbred Club Stakes (1200m) at Caulfield on October 8 in 2011 and she went on to take out the Listed John Monash Stakes (1100m) at the same venue in July of 2012.
Platelet made her debut at the highest level of racing in the 2013 edition of the Group 1 Robert Sangster Stakes (1200m) at Morphettville and she upset Snitzerland to score an impressive win before she replicated the feat of Black Caviar a year earlier to complete the Robert Sangster Stakes/The Goodwood double.
The talented mare added another black type victory to her racing resume when she took out the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes (1200m) at Flemington during the 2013 Spring Racing Carnival and made another successful trip to Adelaide this time last year where she finished second in both the Robert Sangster Classic and The Goodwood.
Platelet started her 2014 Spring Racing Carnival campaign with a second place finish behind Rubick in the Group 2 Schillaci Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on October 11, but she failed to fire in two subsequent starts at Group 1 level.
The six-year-old returned to winning form in a heat of the Jeep 55 Second Challenge at Moonee Valley on March 27, but she produced arguably one of the worst performances of her racing career to date when sixth in the Group 3 Irwin Stakes (1100m) at Morphettville on April 18.
Miracles Of Life is currently available at 2015 Robert Sangster Stakes odds of $4.80 with Ladbrokes and is a narrow favourite from Vain Queen ($5), Avoid Lightning ($7), Politeness ($8.50), Tycoon Tara ($11) and Sabatini ($11).
