Breakfast with the champion
"If you took her [Winx] out of this race you would have had to ballot eight horses out of it because they would all want to be running."
Trainer Peter Moody on why trainers are avoiding the Cox Plate
Winx has tested the relevance of the Australia’s weight-for-age championship with her dominance, leaving her with only eight rivals in the weakest Cox Plate this century.
Champion mare Winx galloped at the course in front of a good crowd at Moonee Valley racecourse on Tuesday, in preparation for her attempt to win a recordequalling third Cox Plate on Saturday.
The best horse in Australia, maybe the world, will be there, but the A$3 million prize pool is not enough to entice the next tier of horses in Australia. There were question marks if a couple of runners were up to Cox Plate standard.
The Cox Plate has turned into the Winx Plate as she looks to emulate Kingston Town’s three-peat by chalking up her 22nd consecutive victory and a 15th Group 1.
Moonee Valley Racing Club chief executive Michael Browell said the Cox Plate had been run for
A$3 million for the past 17 years and appeals to Racing Victoria to increase it to match Sydney’s A$4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes had fallen on deaf ears.
‘‘We put a proposal to Racing Victoria to lift the stakes to $4 million this year and they decided to wait until after the carnival to make a decision on it,’’ a frustrated Browell said. ‘‘It was rated the world’s best turf race last year. We think it is time for the prizemoney to go up.
‘‘You need to have that attraction of extra prizemoney to get the best field, otherwise they just go elsewhere.
‘‘We would like to see the race back to its place as the richest weight-for-age contest [over 2000 metres] in the country and by its
100th running in 2020 we would like it to be worth $5 million.
‘‘It is the third-biggest wagering meeting after Melbourne Cup Day and Derby Day, yet we can’t get any increase in prizemoney from Racing Victoria.’’
The Cox Plate was always going to be the centre of attention this spring because of Winx, but Racing Victoria didn’t deem it worthy of a stakes increase in May.
Racing Victoria pumped A$1 million into Group I races at Flemington and more than A$2m into the spring fare at Caulfield – particularly its weight-for-age programme – and doubling the Caulfield Guineas prize pool to $2m.
While there is a A$440,000 prize for second on Saturday, a majority of trainers of some of the best horses in the country have opted to avoid Winx. They have taken options either earlier or later in the carnival in races that have been increased significantly in stakes in the past couple of years.
Former trainer Peter Moody, who shares in the ownership of Cox Plate rival Hardham, said Winx had changed the plans of number of horses.
‘‘If you took her out of this race you would have had to ballot eight horses out of it because they would all want to be running,’’ Moody said.
‘‘It would have been quite an even race. And the Caulfield Cup would have been a different makeup because people would have been not trying to avoid her.
‘‘She is that good. You just look to go where she is going to be and make other plans.
‘‘No one really wants to just be running for second, but that is the reality of it against Winx.’’
Hardham will back up from last Saturday’s Caulfield Cup in the Cox Plate but Moody only paid up for the Australian Derby placegetter after being assured he would be allowed to start.
‘‘It was an easy decision to run him because he simply didn’t try in the Caulfield Cup,’’ Moody said.
‘‘I rang Michael [Browell] up on Monday because I didn’t want to disgrace the club by putting him in and them deciding he could not run. I asked if the Alister Clark Stakes winner would get a start in the Cox Plate.
‘‘The vet looked at him on Monday and said you wouldn’t know the b ...... had run and on his best he would run second, like the other eight.
‘‘If he applies himself he would be the first one home after Winx if she turns up, so we are just hoping he applies himself.
‘‘I had a look at the rating and I think he is about fifth-highest rated horse in the race.
‘‘If brings that form we might be lucky enough to pick a good cheque, but her can’t beat her.’’