As much as we all loved Winx’s dominance across her four Cox Plate’s, there’s nothing better than a weight-for-age championship with a story behind every horse.
Like him or loathe him, Tony Ottobre has created a narrative around his wonder mare Pride of Jenni, that has captured the attention of racing fans and those on the fringe, not to mention her racing pattern that keeps jockeys and trainers awake at night trying to plot her demise.
Then you have J Mac shooting for his third Cox Plate in a row, on three different horses. Unheard of. He is of course lucky to be riding in the race after his mount Via Sistina tripped at trackwork on Monday at the turn to the home straight, where on Saturday the crowd will be fever pitched.
Evergreen star Mr. Brightside lines up in his 700th Group 1 race (haha), looking to go one better than his courageous second placing last year.
Of course, the race wouldn’t be complete without some international flavour and we get it in spades this year with star Japanese galloper Prognosis, who has form behind none other than last year’s Cox Plate winner Romantic Warrior.
Getting the picture yet!
Three years olds always add a fascinating element to this race and Broadsiding has drawn comparisons to the champion So You Think. He’s a way off achieving anything near that, but he does look the sort of beast that could be the next big thing.
The first 1000m of the race will tell us all we need to know about what the finish will look like. Four-time Cox Plate winning jockey Brent Thompson doesn’t believe Declan Bates will get as far in front on Jenni as many expect him to, but if he gets any easy splits in the first 800m, her explosive sectionals in the final 800m will prove too much for her opposition.
If Prognosis is as good as everyone says, he might just stalk her and give her windburn when the whips are cracking. It feels like he and Jenni will pair off and put a space on the rest.
Luke Dittman declared Pride of Jenni his Contender and Mr. Brightside is Pretender on episode 9 of Racing Xtra but tune into the show for a deep dive into this great race.
Bring on Saturday, can’t bloody wait!
