Saturday sees the running of the 2016 Cox Plate which is one of the three major Spring races in which the three times a year punter will have a flutter on the horses, so if you meet that description then we have done the work for you. If not, then we still list some rather useless information to help you select a horse.
Field: View the Cox Plate Field
View our Unconventional Form Guide for the Cox Plate:
Barrier: The most successful barrier in the last 30 years has been barrier six with five wins, the latest coming in 2008 with Maldivian. On the flip side, no horse in that time has won the great race from barrier eight. Black Heart Bart draws gate six while Epsom winner Hauraki has barrier eight.
Boy or Girl?: Recent history suggests that the fairer sex can certainly hold their own in the Cox Plate. Five winners have been mares since 1999, with Winx the latest in dominant fashion last year. She’ll carry a majority of the punters money.
What are the odds?: Favourites do have a pretty solid record in the race. Since the turn of the century, favourites have won on five occasions and placed in another three editions.
Local or International?: The Internationals haven’t really had a proper crack at the race, but the Aidan O’Brien trained Adelaide scored a remarkable win in 2014. Since 2000, nine winners of the race have been trained in Victoria, so home ground advantage is certainly the case. Only two runners, Black Heart Bart and Awesome Rock, are trained in Victoria.
The Alphabet: “E” and “L” are the two most popular. Since 2000 those letters have been featured in 12 winners. Five runners have at least one of those letters in that name, but not the raging favourite Winx.
Hoop Honours: Craig Williams holds that title of the modern era with two wins (Fields Of Omagh 2006 and Pinker Pinker 2011). But he is suspended and will miss the meeting. Hugh Bowman is the only rider to have tasted success in the race, which of course was 12 months ago with Winx.
Trainer Tally: Bart Cummings made the Cox Plate his own in recent history, winning on four occasions. David Hayes and Lee Freedman have each won the race twice. Chris Waller is the only trainer in the 2016 field to have won the race previously, with that being Winx in 2015.
Favourite Colour?: If you’re feeling blue, you’ll be cheered up by the fact that the Cox Plate winner has carried blue in their silks nine times since 2009, including the last two winners, Winx and Adelaide. Seven of the the runners have blue in their silks.
Valley first timers?: The Moonee Valley layout is a tough one for horses. Some handle it, some don’t. Well, the Cox Plate winners handle it. Since 2000, five winners have been successful at their Moonee Valley debut. Six of the ten runners this Saturday are making their Moonee Valley debut.
