Awapuni trainer Lisa Latta was quick to acknowledge that she was as surprised as most punters when her classy mare Platinum Witness bounced straight to the lead in her return to the racetrack at Hawera on Saturday.

Last season’s New Zealand Bloodstock Filly of the Year was resuming off the back of a winter break having finished amongst the tail-enders in the Gr. 1 Queensland Oaks back in May to round out her three-year-old campaign. While Latta was expecting the mare to be too strong for her rating 85 rivals in Saturday’s 1400 metre contest she didn’t expect the win would be accomplished with a flawless front-running performance.

“She’s never led in her life so to see her in front like that was a real shock,” she admitted.

“She was a little above herself and keen to get on with the job so when she jumped so well Darryl (Bradley) let her slide to the front and she controlled the race from there.”

Latta was delighted with the decisiveness of the win as she sets her sights on the mare’s major assignment at Riccarton next month.

“We will let the dust settle on this run before we decide what to do next but she will only have one more start before we head to Riccarton for the Coupland’s Mile,” she said.

“There are a number of options for that next race but until we can put a saddle back on her in a couple of days we won’t be making any plans just yet.

“This race will have done her the world of good and with another under her belt she will be at peak for Riccarton. She should get into the Coupland’s on a nice weight and we know she copes well with the mile down there.”

Latta was referring to the daughter of California Dane’s victory in the Gr. 1 One Thousand Guineas over 1600 metres during the 2014 New Zealand Cup Carnival, one of the mare’s four wins as a three-year-old.

The victory by Platinum Witness provided a double for Latta who produced stablemate Reilly Lincoln to take out a rating 75 1200 metre event earlier in the day.