Star mares Via Sistina and Treasurethe Moment will be kept apart until they clash in the Cox Plate.
Yulong announced on Thursday the pair are Cox Plate bound with minor tinkering to their original programs.
The Chris Waller-trained Via Sistina will bypass the Group 1 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 13 with the 7 Stakes (1600m) on September 20 or the Group 1 Underwood Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on the same day provisionally pencilled in for the mare.
The recently named Australian Horse Of The Year would then run in Melbourne in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 4, her final outing ahead of the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 25.
The Matt Laurie-trained Treasurethe Moment, who was recently named Champion Three-Year-Old filly and returned with a stunning win in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield last Saturday, is set to run in the Makybe Diva Stakes.
The Turnbull Stakes had been pencilled in for Treasurethe Moment, but the mare will instead head to the Group 1 Might And Power (2000m) at Caulfield on October 11 as her final lead-up to the Cox Plate two weeks later.
The decision to split the mares and then meet in the Cox Plate was made after consultation with the Yulong team.
“We feel that it is in the best interests of the horses not to meet until they need to,” Yulong Racing Manager Troy Stephens said in a statement.
“After discussions with Mr Zhang, the Yulong team and the trainers, both Chris and Matt have agreed to change their preparations slightly, keeping each mare on their own separate path that will ultimately benefit the horses long-term.
“This season’s Cox Plate is certainly not a two-horse race, but it will definitely add to the spectacle if these two great mares line up for the first time together in October.”
Punters looking forward to the historic Cox Plate showdown can secure early odds and markets through Australia’s leading betting sites.
