2016 Cox Plate Nominations: Winx Joined by 12 Stablemates

Sydney’s record breaking trainer Chris Waller has a total of 13 weight-for-age hopefuls among the 2016 Cox Plate nominations this spring including his defending champion Winx.

Last year’s winner Winx is the headline 2016 Cox Plate nominee for this spring. Photo: Steve Hart.

Street Cry mare Winx is early favourite in futures betting at Ladbrokes.com.au to go back-to-back in this season’s $3 million Group 1 W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley Racecourse on October 22.

Cox Plate nominations as well as those for a host of other upcoming Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival features including the Caulfield Cup closed a midday on Tuesday.

A total of 157 horses make up the early Cox Plate entries, down from 173 nominations at the same stage last season.

The last dual Cox Plate winner was So You Think (2009-10), but the last mare to win successive editions of Australasia’s weight-for-age championship as Winx is out to do in 2016 was Sunline (1999-2000).

She was last seen winning the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) in Sydney and resumes racing at Randwick on August 20 in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes (1400m).

Waller’s other headline nominees to take out his second Cox Plate trophy in as many years include his Sydney Cup placegetter Grand Marshal, this year’s Australian Cup – The BMW double winner Preferment, last year’s Spring Champion Stakes winner Vanbrugh and past Melbourne Cup third placed Kiwi stayer Who Shot Thebarman.

The other best fancied nominee in the current Cox Plate odds is the Kris Lees-trained Queen Elizabeth Stakes winning mare Lucia Valentina.

The multiple Group 1 champ has contested the past two editions of the Caulfield Cup, but will be kept to WFA and the shorter distance with a Cox Plate campaign this spring.

A six-year-old daughter of Savabeel, Lucia Valentina trialled nicely at Gosford on Monday pleasing her Newcastle-based trainer Lees and will face a tough first-up assignment against Winx in the Warwick Stakes.

Of the Cox Plate nominated stallions the shortest-priced is the Robert Hickmott-trained The United States who ran second in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes to Lucia Valentina in the autumn.

That followed the son of Galileo’s win in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m), The United States having won the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) at the Cox Plate track last spring before a luckless Melbourne Cup 14^th.

Sydney Cup winner Gallante is the other best out of the Hickmott-nominated Cox Plate horses this year.

A total of 42 three-year-olds are among the Cox Plate nominations looking to join the likes of Red Anchor (1984), Octagonal (1995), Savabeel (2004), So You Think (2009) and Shamus Award (2013) as the recent youngsters to beat the older gallopers home in the classic.

Some of the more notable three-year-olds in the mix include the James Cummings-trained Champagne Stakes winning More Than Ready colt Prized Icon, Hawkes Racing’s third placegetter in the same Randwick feature Divine Prophet and the David Vandyke-trained Yankee Rose.

Runner-up in the Golden Slipper to Capitalist, David Vandyke’s star filly Yankee Rose was last seen winning the Group 1 ATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) and could resume in September’s Golden Rose Stakes on her way to Melbourne.

There is a strong international presence in the race again this year including Hardwick Stakes third placegetter Almodovar (GB) and the Peter Chapple-Hyam-trained Arod (GB) who ran 11^th in last year’s race,

Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien, who won with Adelaide (2014) two years ago, also returns with 11 Cox Plate entries.

O’Brien’s charge is led by the likes of Bondi Beach who ran in last year’s Melbourne Cup (16^th), this year’s Melbourne Cup favourite Order Of St George who is part-owned by Lloyd Williams and who won the Ascot Gold Cup last start, and Highland Reel.

Highland Reel crossed third to Winx in the Cox Plate last spring before a Hong Kong Vase victory and was in the winner’s stall again in England on July 23 with success in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2012m) at Ascot.

Other top Cox Plate entries include Mick Price’s Victoria Derby winner Tarzino, New Zealand-trained ATC Oaks winner Sofia Rosa, last year’s Caulfield Cup third placed Our Ivanhowe last seen winning the Doomben Cup in Brisbane, the Darren Weir-trained Palentino and Ciaron Maher’s Crown Oaks winner last Melbourne Cup Carnival Jameka.

Maher has a total of four entries with Jameka joined by ace mare Azkadellia, French import Duke Of Ellington and Set Square who also won the Crown Oaks in her three-year-old season.

The most notable omission from the Cox Plate 2016 nominations meanwhile was Hong Kong-raced Werther who was early second favourite in ante-post betting.

Cox Plate first acceptances close on September 6 followed by the second (September 20) and third (October 4) rounds of declarations.

The official Cox Plate field is then out on October 18, 2016.

Stay tuned to Races.com.au for all the latest and for the best pre-field Cox Plate betting odds and options head to Ladbrokes.com.au – home of the $500 first time depositor’s bonus with use of the code BETBONUS!

2016 Cox Plate Nominations

Moonee Valley Race 8 – 22/10/2016