W S COX PLATE – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
* Run Moonee Valley as race nine on Saturday, October 26, 4.55pm (AEDT)
* Group One, $5 million, 2040m, weight-for-age
HISTORY
* First run in 1922 when the Moonee Valley Racing Club committee voted for a high-quality, weight-for-age race
* Violoncello won the first Cox Plate a year after winning the 44th Caulfield Cup
* Named after William Samuel Cox, founder of Moonee Valley racecourse in 1883, who died in 1892 aged 64
* Shortest-priced winner: Phar Lap (1-14 or $1.07 in 1931)
* Kingston Town won three Cox Plates in 1980, 81 and 82 with Winx eclisping that with her four from 2015 to 2018.
* Rising Fast (1954) is the only horse to win the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the same year
* A tight turning, StrathAyr (turf with sand base) track with 1805m circumference and 173m home straight
NOTABLE WINNERS
* Phar Lap (1930-31), Ajax (1938), Rising Fast (1954), Tulloch (1960), Tobin Bronze (1966-67), Dulcify (1979), Kingston Town (1980, 81, 82), Bonecrusher (1986), Might And Power (1998), Sunline (1999, 2000), Northerly (2001, 02), Makybe Diva (2005), So You Think (2009, 10), Adelaide (2014) and Winx (2015, 16, 17, 18)
* Late trainer TJ Smith won a record seven times with Redcraze (1957), Tulloch (1960), Gunsynd (1972), Kingston Town (1980, 1981, -82) and Red Anchor (1984)
* Late jockey Darby Munro won a record five times with Rogilla (1933), Young Idea (1937), Mosaic (1939), Beau Vite (1941) and Hydrogen (1952)
TALKING POINTS
* After scaring away rivals for four years, Winx has retired paving the way for a new winner
* Humidor, a close second to Winx in 2017 and third last year, was overlooked for a spot in the capacity 14-runner field but named the first of four emergencies
* The Cox Plate hasn’t had emergencies since 2013 when Shamus Award gained a start and went on to beat Happy Trails
* Favourite Lys Gracieux can make it back-to-back major triumphs for Japanese vicitors after Mer De Glace claimed the Caulfield Cup
* Four internationally-trained runners: Lys Gracieux, Kluger, Danceteria and Magic Wand
* Avilius passed a fitness test after blood was found in a nostril following a work-out at The Valley on Saturday
WHAT THE KEY PLAYERS ARE SAYING
* “I guess the weight of expectation is getting a little concerning. It’s never easy to win these sorts of races, so she’s going to need luck on the day and she should be running well” – jockey Damian Lane on Lys Gracieux
* “She’s never won a Group One and this is arguably the biggest weight-for-age race in Australia so she’s got to improve a little bit to be winning” – Magic Wand’s jockey Ryan Moore
* “He is taking on these weight-for-age horses but he’ll put himself in a great position from the draw (4)” – Castelvecchio’s jockey Craig Williams
