Kiwis join Winx in Cox Plate mix
Seventy-eight horses remain in contention to take on champion Winx in her bid for a record-equalling third Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.
Of the 141 nominations taken last month, 79 remained for the A$3 million weight-for-age race on October 28 after first acceptances closed on Tuesday.
Among them are 10 northern hemisphere-trained horses including five from Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien’s stable.
O’Brien, who won the Cox Plate with Adelaide in 2014, has Deauville, Johannes Vermeer, Taj Mahal, Lancaster Bomber and Cliffs Of Moher entered but has not paid up for 2015 placegetter Highland Reel. The other internationals include Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor-trained stablemates Prize Money and Best Solution and Charlie Appleby’s Folkswood.
The Willie Mullins-trained Riven Light and Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Kaspersky are also first acceptors.
Winx is the $1.50 favourite to join Kingston Town as a three-time winner and she takes another step towards the race when she chases her 20th consecutive win in Saturday’s George Main Stakes in Sydney.
Also in the mix is New Zealand Horse of the Year Bonneval, stablemate and Australian Derby winner Jon Snow, New Zealand Derby winner Gingernuts and star three-year-old Summer Passage.
The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained son of Snitzel won last season’s Group I Sistema Stakes and was runner-up in the Group I Sires Produce at Randwick behind Invader.
A host of former Kiwi runners are in contention including Australian Cup winner Humidor, former New Zealand 1000 Guineas winner Risque and Group I placegetters Savile Row and Sound Proposition.
Former Kiwi trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young have their smart three-year-old Wassergeist in the Cox Plate mix.
Wassergeist beat home the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Weather With You in a three-year-old maiden race (1400m) at Sandown on September 6.