Ryan Sanderson is hoping a sequential form line will play out in full and pave the way for Platinum Stride to chalk up his first cup success in the Jim Phillips Memorial Cobram Pacing Cup.
The son of Captaintreacherous has finished third and runner up at his past two cup attempts.
Four starts ago Platinum Stride finished third in the Group 3 South Australian Pacing Cup Final behind Where’s The Gold and at his most recent outing was runner up behind Pull The Other Leg in the Stawell Pacing Cup.
Sanderson, who was in the sulky at Globe Derby, said the race wasn’t run to suit his charge.
“They walked mid race and it turned into a sprint home and he likes a genuine tempo in his races,” Sanderson said.
Sanderson’s sister Abbey was in charge of the reins at Stawell.
“Abbey drove him well but as the race was run he was forced to do a lot of work and was left vulnerable to Pull The Other Leg,” he said.
Sanderson said Platinum Stride’s versatility was one of the six- year- olds key attributes.
“You can drive him whichever way the race pans out,” he said.
“He lacks a bit of high speed but he can run even sectionals and likes it when the tempo is genuine.”
Sanderson believes the second row alley will be negated if the race is turned into a test of strength.
“He is well up to this class and he’ll appreciate the 2700 metres particularly if the speed is on mid race and we can come with one run at them,” he said.
Platinum Stride has won 12 of his 65 starts and been placed on a further 26 occasions.
“He has been a terrific horse for us,” he said.
Meanwhile trainer Carla Innes-Goodridge is hoping for a change in fortune in the Cobram Trotters Cup with her in form eight-year-old Zarem.
The son of Wishing Stone finished last after leading in the corresponding race last year however Innes-Goodridge admits she has had a change of heart.
“Last year was a debacle and I said that I was never coming back but he has really blossomed in the past 12 months,” she said.
“We haven’t done anything different with him, it’s just that he’s matured which often happens with trotters as they get older.”
Given his form line in the past six months, Zarem will relish the 2678 metre journey of the cup.
“Ellen (Tormey) knows him well and that he loves to follow a helmet somewhere on the fence, he puts himself to sleep and just loves the distance races,” she said.
Family fun at Cobram
It will be on for young and old in tomorrow’s Jim Phillips Memorial Cobram Pacing Cup, an occasion that honours a great club contributor while celebrating some of the sport’s top young talent.
Cruz Bromac and Lochinvar Art are but a few of the Cobram conquerors to go on to big things and a new breed will be hoping to do similar at the Murray River township this weekend.
Run every year since 1976, the cup is named after the late Jim Phillips, who Cobram and District Harness Racing Club manager Adam Rudd said was a key foundation figure at the club. “He was one of the people who really helped develop the club in the early days and was a life member of the club,” Rudd said.
“His family and himself were great contributors to the harness club.” Like many harness racing tracks throughout Victoria, the club is a heartbeat of the town but the pandemic and natural disasters have taken their toll in recent years.
“It’s been hard for a few years to be quite honest,” Rudd said. “We are just start[1]ing to get our crowds back, even though we have been back open for 12 months.
“Harness racing is a really great day out and we just put on the best racing and the nicest environment we can. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come and enjoy a day of racing and lots of activities for the whole family.”
