EMMA FREEDMAN: Final Cox Plate at Moonee Valley promises drama, nostalgia and a fitting farewell
Saturday’s final running of the WS Cox Plate at the current Moonee Valley circuit will be a celebration of everything the famed track has seen for over 140 years, but also a sad farewell of arguably, one of the world’s most unique tracks.
Commercial realities have seen the Moonee Valley Racing Club turn to a land sell off and in turn, a reconfiguration of the track, to ensure the future viability of the club.
While a necessity, it is still very sad to see it go. Racing has a funny way of throwing up a fairytale result at the most opportune time — and maybe on Saturday, we could farewell the Valley (for now) with one to remember.
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An amphitheatre of drama, as tough to navigate as a velodrome. Once you round the final bend towards home, there’s only 173m of straight to get the job done.
The greats have tackled that challenge with gusto and fought to the finish like only warriors could. And boy have there been some greats.
Kingston Town’s three peat, rounded out by the famous Bill Collins catchcry “Kingston Town can’t win”.
His epic magnum opus of emotion and exhaustion; “Bonecrusher, Our Waverley Star, stride for stride … But Bonecrusher races into equine immortality”.
The 1980s played host to some of the greatest Cox Plates ever.
Makybe Diva, marching towards a third Melbourne Cup, fanning the turn with runners spanning running rail to running rail. Bossy perched as quiet as a church mouse.
The greatest of them all, Winx, dominating for four straight years, Matt Hill with a subtle nod to bygone Bill “Winx has done it — it’s equine utopia”.
The old legend, Fields of Omagh, FOO, winning his second at nine years old, the oldest ever to win it. Just a few of the history breaking highlights.
Most incredibly, the past four editions have all had supreme theatre to count them as blockbuster epics.
The protest between Anamoe and State of Rest; the Irish team shifting badly, hampering the Blue Army’s three-year-old colt’s final finishing burst, but controversially dismissed.
But then, sweet redemption. 12 months on in 2022, “this time for the Big A”.
To keep him in training as a four-year-old entire, an unlikely move in an era of the mega stallion.
But risk for reward, a tremendous pay off for the brave James Cummings. The first of a JMac three peat.
The superstar hoop would back a Hong Kong hero from mid 2023, assuring the racing public that Romantic Warrior would be hard to beat months down the track. Some laughed.
After a lacklustre, underdone performance in the lead up Turnbull Stakes, he would be vindicated by the most rousing of margins, a slither in a photo finish with the evergreen Mr Brightside. The Hong Kong champ would become his forever favourite horse.
And then the drama of last year, set up with the stunning trackwork fall on the Tuesday prior, where Via Sistina, above, a mare whose size is only matched by her impenetrable record, was a doubtful starter for the days preceding.
She’d come out and smash her rivals by eight lengths, break the track record and give James his 100th Group 1 win, also achieved in world record time.
Whoever runs away with victory on Saturday will always be remembered as the last winner of the old school Valley.
Back-to-back Via Sistina win’s would give Chris Waller a sixth Plate, James a fourth straight.
The Thursday scratching of Globe makes things very interesting from a map perspective. Anything could happen once the gates crash open, which might be the magic part of this edition of the great race.
I won’t be surprised if Via is put into the race early doors near the lead. Expect Blake Shinn to pull his signature sustained move on Antino midway through the race.
We’ve been waiting for it all prep. It’s grand final day, they won’t waste that ace up their sleeve.
Although down on quality and size on years gone by, it’s the reminiscing that will make this final edition so special.
Long live the memories of a venue that has had an uncanny knack for giving us the moments that live in the hearts of racing fans forever.
