Without the pressure or expectation of recent years with Winx, champion trainer Chris Waller will chase a fifth-straight Cox Plate when he saddles up Verry Elleegant and Kings Will Dream.
Champion Winx dominated the Cox Plate with a record four-straight wins and Saturday’s edition at The Valley is the first since her retirement earlier this year.
Waller has Verry Elleegant and Kings Will Dream in the race with the latter to be ridden by Winx’s jockey Hugh Bowman.
“It would be pretty special,” Waller said.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to that level to eclipse what Winx did. Because that’s just mind-blowing.
“But we’ll certainly still have plenty of thrills in between, if we ever get back there.
“To win the race that Winx made her own over the past four years would be very special, with any horse, whether it be this year or 20 years time.”
Verry Elleegant is a four-year-old mare, the same age as Winx when she won her first Cox Plate in 2015, and heads into the race off a last-start weight-for-age win in the Group Two Hill Stakes at Randwick.
Kings Will Dream suffered a life-threatening pelvic injury in the race last year but has returned to racing this spring and claimed a Group One win in the Turnbull Stakes three weeks ago to stamp his Cox Plate credentials.
Verry Elleegant was at $16 on Friday while Kings Will Dream was a $19 chance in Cox Plate odds.
“They are two different horses,” Waller said.
“They are both winners of their last start. They’re both Group One winners. Kings Will Dream is a big strong, mature horse and Verry Elleegant is getting towards probably her peak performances.”
