Cox Plate
The W. S. Cox Plate isregarded as Australia’s premier and richest weight-for-age race with its rollcall of winners featuring some of the best horses to have ever raced inAustralia. The event is staged at the Moonee Valley Racing Club and has aprize purse of $3million for the winner.
Violoncello (who also won a CaulfieldCup) started the pattern of quality in 1922 and this was quickly repeated withthe likes of Manfred, Heroic, Nightmarch and Phar Lap.
Other top flight victors include Ajax,Tranquil Star, Rising Fast and Noholme. In recent years champions such asStrawberry Road, Kingston Town, Might And Power and Northerly have captured the“weight-for-age championship”. Sunline achieved the Cox Plate double,winning the 1999 and 2000 Cox Plate's.
In 2011 Pinker Pinker was a surprise winner;the mare beat Jimmy Choux and Rekindled Interest to win the Cox Plate fortrainer Greg Eurell.
Did you know?
- Bart Cummings has won the most W.SCox Plates won by a trainer with five. He has also trained the most MelbourneCup and Caulfield Cup winners.
- In 2005 a horse by the name of MakybeDiva took out the WS Cox Plate then backed up and won the Melbourne Cup in thespace of 10 days.
- Might and Power holds the record forthe fastest Cox Plate time in 1998 in a time of 2 minutes and 3.54 seconds.
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