Racing: Breakthrough win for mare in Cup

Platinum Command wins the $100,000 Winter Cup on Saturday. Photo / Race Images

Platinum Command landed a timely win to boost her broodmare value when charging home to take the Gr.3 $100,000 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday.

Platinum Command is in the twilight of her racing career and changed hands a few months ago with one of the original owners, Neville McAllister, benefiting from her biggest win by remaining in the ownership to breed from the seven-year-old daughter of Red Giant.

"She was originally raced by Neville and John Street, but John isn't into breeding so she changed hands with Neville and Ashburn Lane Investments now racing her," trainer Lisa Latta said. "It's a great result for them."

It was the 10th win and first black-type success for Platinum Command. She had come so close to winning the same event two years ago when going down a mere short head to Miss Three Stars.

She returned to finish fourth to Nashville in last year's Winter Cup and among her other black-type placings is a second in the 2016 Gr.3 Merial Metric Mile (1600m) at Awapuni.

Her most recent success leading into Saturday's race was in the North Island Challenge Stakes (1400m) at Trentham in May and there was hope in the camp of another win after her fourth to Dez in the Whyte Handicap (1600m) last month.

"She has gone on better tracks like this before and it was a gem of a ride from Ryan [Elliot]," Latta said.

"She can pull very hard and that's been her undoing in a lot of her runs. That's why she goes better on the back-up. She went down in her preliminary relaxed and she was relaxed in the race."

Elliot settled Platinum Command midfield and tracked one of the leading hopes, She's Poppy, into the race from the 600 metres.

Platinum Command surged past She's Poppy to win convincingly by a length, while the lightly raced Dez wound-up late to grab third placing.

For Latta, the win was her third in the Winter Cup, following on from Tuscany Warrior in 2003 and Mikki Street three years later.

Platinum Command is now likely to back up on the last day of the Grand National meeting in the Christchurch Casino Winter Classic (1800m), as she did last year when fourth.

- NZ Racing Desk