Tommy Berry believes punters aren’t showing Melbourne’s weight-for-age form enough respect and has declared Entirely Platinum a major player in Saturday’s Epsom Handicap.
Hawkes Racing made the decision to send Entirely Platinum to Sydney last week when it became clear the Epsom field was falling away.
The six-year-old has filled minor placings in the Memsie and Makybe Diva Stakes at his past two starts, form Berry says is a strong pointer to his Epsom chances.
“I’m very surprised about the price actually. He’s third pick and he’s got a great record at the mile, he’ll be on-pace and he’ll be very hard to hold out,” Berry said.
“He’s been Group One placed his two runs this preparation and been beaten by Boban and Fawkner and they’ve both franked the form in their recent runs.”
Entirely Platinum, an $11 chance, has been a mainstay of Hawkes’ Melbourne stable for the past 12 months.
His last appearance in Sydney was in the 2014 Chelmsford Stakes when he didn’t handle the heavy track and finished last but he does have a Group Two win at Rosehill to his credit.
Entirely Platinum will be one of two Epsom runners for Hawkes Racing along with Messene who backs up from a Shannon Stakes placing behind Vashka.
Berry will have to contend with an outside barrier draw but the jockey, who won the 2012 Epsom on Fat Al, says Entirely Platinum should have enough gate speed to negate his alley.
“It’s always nice to draw in a bit closer but from the Randwick mile start you’ve got a very long run down the back straight so we can take our time,” he said.
“If you’ve got a horse with speed it’s not too much of a problem, it’s when you draw out there and you’ve got a horse who sits midfield, it makes it a bit harder to get in.”
