Ajax McCarten up at Rosehill, 18 September 1937

Delta 1950 VRC St Leger Flemington Racecourse Jockey Neville Sellwood Trainer Maurice McCarten

The W. S. Cox Plate is a

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

horse race Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, ...

for horses aged three years old and over under

Weight for age {{use dmy dates, date=October 2022 Weight for Age (WFA) is a term in thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. History The principle of WFA was developed by Admiral Rous, a handicapper with the English Jockey Club. Rou ...

conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the

Moonee Valley Racing Club The Moonee Valley Racing Club (MVRC) was founded by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox), in 1883 is located at The Valley Racecourse on McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds (a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). It is one of three racing clubs in the Me ...

Moonee Valley Racecourse Moonee Valley Racecourse, currently marketed as The Valley, is a horse-racing track in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. History Moonee Valley Racecourse was established in 1883 by William Samuel (W.S.) Cox, who purchased a fa ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

in late October. The race has a purse of A$5,000,000.

History

The race is named in honour of William Samuel (W. S.) Cox, the racing club's founder. It was first run on Saturday 28 October 1922 with a purse of £1,000. Between 1999–2005 the event was included in the Emirates World Series Racing Championship, a global "grand prix" of horse racing. The series included the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot o ...

at Ascot, the

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

, the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

, the

Arlington Million The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flat horse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward on the turf. It was originally raced at the now-closed Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois over a distance of ...

, the

Hong Kong Cup The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year i ...

, the

Canadian International Stakes The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creat ...

, the

Grosser Preis von Baden The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is schedu ...

, the

Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes ( Irish: Curadh-Dhuais na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,01 ...

, the

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's curre ...

and the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

1938 & 1948 racebooks

Image:1938 MVRC W S Cox Plate Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1938 W S Cox Plate racebook. Image: 1938 MVRC W S Cox Plate Racebook P2.jpg, Inside cover showing raceday officials. Image: 1938 MVRC W S Cox Plate Racebook P3.jpg, Starters and results of the 1938 W S Cox Plate showing the winner,

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...

. Image: 1938 MVRC W S Cox Plate Racebook P4.jpg, Starters and results of the 1938 W S Cox Plate. File:1948 MVRC W. S. Cox Plate Racebook P1.jpg, Front cover of the 1948 W. S. Cox Plate racebook. File:1948 MVRC W. S. Cox Plate Racebook P2.jpg, Inside cover showing raceday officials. File:1948 MVRC W. S. Cox Plate Racebook P3.jpg, Starters and results of the 1948 W. S. Cox Plate showing the winner,

Carbon Copy Before the development of photographic copiers, a carbon copy was the under-copy of a typed or written document placed over carbon paper and the under-copy sheet itself (not to be confused with the carbon print family of photographic reproduc ...

. File:1948 MVRC W. S. Cox Plate Racebook P4.jpg, Back cover showing admission charges & transport arrangements.

Notable winners

Past winners of the Cox Plate include many of the champion racehorses of Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

. Winx has been the most successful, winning four years in a row (2015-2018) and Kingston Town won the race three times. Many horses have won the race twice, including

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a champion New Zealand–bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest racehorse ever. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial u ...

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

Tobin Bronze Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

Sunline Sunline (29 September 1995 – 1 May 2009) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning race mare of her time. She won 32 of her 48 races with earnings of NZ$14,200,000. She was named the New Zealan ...

Northerly Northerly (17 October 1996 – 9 May 2012) was an Australian racehorse who is considered arguably Australia's best middle distance Thoroughbred horse of the early 2000s. Northerly, trained by Western Australian harness racing legend Fred Kersl ...

Fields of Omagh Fields Of Omagh (foaled 1997) is a champion middle distance Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the early-mid-2000s. He was a half-brother to the stakeswinners, King Brian (Bunbury Cup, Pinjarra Cup), Malcolm (STC Canterbury Stakes, Ajax Stak ...

, and

So You Think So You Think (foaled 10 November 2006) is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, now majority owned by Coolmore Stud of Ireland. So You Think came to prominence through winning the 2009 and 2010 Cox Plates, Australia's premier weight for ag ...

. Only one horse has ever won the race in the same year as winning the Melbourne and Caulfield cups,

Rising Fast Rising Fast (1949 - 1978) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who is the only horse to complete the Spring Grand Slam, winning the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, and Cox Plate in 1954. He also won the 1955 Caulfield Cup and ca ...

(1954), considered by many to be the greatest-ever horse from New Zealand. The double with the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

has only been achieved by seven horses: Makybe Diva,

Might and Power Might and Power (6 October 1993 – 11 April 2020) was a New Zealand bred, Australian owned and trained Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australian Horse of the Year in 1998 and 1999. As a four-year-old, Might And Power won the Caulfield a ...

Saintly Saintly (21 September 1992 – 16 December 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace (by Sir Tristram), he was bred by his t ...

Nightmarch Nightmarch, foaled in 1925 was an outstanding New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse known as ''The Kiwi''. He won the New Zealand Derby and Dunedin Cup as a three-year-old before going to Australia where he became the first horse to win both ...

, Phar Lap, Delta and Rising Fast. Only three horses have ever won the Melbourne Cup and then gone on to win the Cox Plate the following year: Phar Lap, Might and Power and Makybe Diva. The first Cox Plate was run in 1922 and won by the English horse Violoncello, who also won his next three starts during the

Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival The Spring Racing Carnival is the name of an Australian Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually in Melbourne during October and November. The Carnival and its status in the wider community Although racing in Australia is held every day excep ...

. The 1925 race was taken out by three-year-old Manfred, who went on to win the VRC Derby and ran second to Windbag in the Melbourne Cup. The class gallopers Heroic (21 wins from 51 races) and

Amounis Amounis was an Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He won 33 races over distances ranging from 6 to 12 furlongs (1,200 to 2,400 metres). Of these wins, 27 were in "Principal Races" (equivalent to today's Group races or "Black Type" ra ...

(33 wins from 78 races) were successful in 1926 and 1927. Champion New Zealand-bred

won in 1929 before Phar Lap took out the race in 1930 and 1931. Another dual winner of the race was Chatham in 1932 and 1934, as was

Young Idea Young Idea was a brown Australian thoroughbred stallion who raced for five seasons from a two-year-old to a six-year-old, recording major wins in Sydney and Melbourne from 6 furlongs to 1¼ miles. Breeding Young Idea was bred by Percy Miller ...

in 1936 and 1937. The 1938 race was won by

(36 wins from 46 races) in race record time. Outstanding New Zealand champion Beau Vite, a winner of 31 races, won in 1940 and 1941. Due to restrictions on interstate travel due to World War II, the race was only contested by local horses from 1942 to 1944. In 1946, the Cox Plate was run in two divisions with the mare

winning the stronger division. She became a dual winner following her victory a year earlier.

Hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

became the seventh dual winner of the race with victories in 1952 and 1953. The dual

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

and Melbourne Cup winner

won in 1954.

Redcraze Redcraze (born 1950) was a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who raced both in Australia and New Zealand, winning major races in both countries. A chestnut son of the Hyperion stallion Red Mars from the mare Myarion he is considere ...

, a 32-race winner and New Zealand champion, took out the Plate in 1957 as a seven-year-old, ridden by George Moore. Noholme took nearly a second off the race record in a front-running display to win in 1959.

Tulloch Tulloch may refer to: People with the surname * Alexander Bruce Tulloch (1838–1920), Major-general in the British Army, author * Bert Tulloch, English footballer *Bitsie Tulloch, American actress * Francis Tulloch (born 1940), Jamaican politici ...

, who is often compared to Phar Lap and

Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

, won the following year and again set a new race record.

became a dual winner of the race with victories in 1966 and 1967. The 1969 Cox Plate was won by the New Zealand three-year-old colt

Daryl's Joy Daryl’s Joy was a notable New Zealand Thoroughbred race horse. A son of Stunning (GB) from the mare Rutha (NZ), he was foaled in 1966 and was trained by Syd Brown in New Zealand and later in his career by Charlie Whittingham in the United Stat ...

, who went on to race successfully in the USA. The popular Goondiwindi grey, Gunsynd, was trainer Tommy Smith's third winner of the Cox Plate in 1972, and the New Zealand Derby winner Fury's Order staggered to victory on a bog track in 1975.

Surround Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener (surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...

became the first three-year-old filly to win the race in 1976, when she defeated the VRC Derby winner Unaware. The ill-fated Dulcify strode away to win by seven lengths in 1979. He later started favourite in the Melbourne Cup but had to be put down after breaking a pelvis during the race. One of only two triple winners of the Cox Plate, Kingston Town, won in 1980, 1981 and 1982. On each occasion he was ridden by a different jockey:

Malcolm Johnston Malcolm Johnston (born 19 October 1956) is a retired Australian jockey. Johnston was raised in the rural town of Forbes, New South Wales. He went to Sydney as an apprentice jockey underneath trainer Theo Green, riding his first winner in Sydne ...

in 1980, Ron Quinton in 1981, and

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

in 1982. After winning in 1983, Strawberry Road raced in Europe and the US, where he ran fifth in the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

at Longchamp and third to Seattle Song in the 1984

Washington, D.C. International The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of miles (12 furlong ...

at Laurel. In 1984,

Red Anchor Red Anchor was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in Australia. In the 1984 Spring Racing Carnival he won the Caulfield Guineas, W. S. Cox Plate and the Victoria Derby. In 2021 he was inducted into the Australian Racing Hal ...

became trainer

T.J. Smith Thomas John Smith (3 September 1916 – 2 September 1998) was a leading trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Sydney, New South Wales. Inducted into the Australian Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in 2001 and elevated to Legend status i ...

's seventh Cox Plate winner. The 1986 Cox Plate was a two-horse war over the final 800 metres before Bonecrusher triumphed over Our Waverley Star by a neck. This encounter became known as the Race of the Century.

Rubiton Rubiton (18 October 1983 – 25 November 2005) was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the mid-1980s. He was bred by the Oamaru Stud in Victoria. Rubiton's name was a combination of "Ruby" and "ton", a colloquial term for 100 runs ...

, the winner in 1987, went on to a successful stud career where he sired a future Cox Plate winner in

Better Loosen Up Better Loosen Up (foaled 29 August 1985 – died 15 March 2016) was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse that won the Japan Cup in 1990 and was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1991. He campaigned from two to seven years of age, and wo ...

was 30 lengths from the lead, with 1000 metres to run, before winning the 1990 Plate in record time. He later became the first – and remains the only – Australian horse to win the

. The eight-year-old

Super Impose Super Impose (5 October 1984 – 23 March 2007) was a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In a career spanning 74 starts, he won eight Group One races and a then Australasian recor ...

won in 1992 and defeated a top-class field which included

Let's Elope Let's Elope (20 November 1987 – 11 September 2016) was a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse in Australia. Background Bred by Highview Stud in Hamilton, New Zealand, Let's Elope was a giant chestnut mare who in 1991 became the first ma ...

and favourite Naturalism, who lost his rider. Naturalism went on to run second in the

. Australian Horse of the Year

Octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t ...

defeated

Mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus '' Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: U ...

in 1995, while

gave

Bart Cummings James Bartholomew Cummings (14 November 1927 – 30 August 2015), also known by his initials J. B. Cummings, was one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He was known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as he wo ...

his second winner of the race in 1996 and

Dane Ripper Dane Ripper is an Australian Thoroughbred race horse. Trained by Bart Cummings, she is best known for her win in the 1997 Cox Plate when ridden by Damien Oliver Damien Oliver (born 22 June 1972) is an Australian thoroughbred racing jockey. ...

his third winner the following year. The 'People's Champion'

led throughout to win in 1998, setting a new track record not to be broken for 17 years. In a front-running display,

won the 1999 Cox Plate and returned in 2000 to win again by seven lengths (equalling Dulcify's winning margin), before West Australian champion

defeated her in 2001 and 2002. In 2004,

Savabeel Savabeel is a retired Australian Thoroughbred race horse and active sire. He is best known for his win in the 2004 Cox Plate. He was trained by Graeme Rogerson, and ridden by Chris Munce in his most important wins. Breeding Savabeel, foaled ...

became the first 3-year-old to win since Octagonal. In 2005, Makybe Diva triumphed and became one of the most popular horses in Australian racing history with an unprecedented third

win 10 days later.

won his second Cox Plate in 2006, having already won in 2003, then finished second in 2004 and third behind Makybe Diva in 2005. In 2007, El Segundo won the Cox Plate, avenging his close defeat to Fields of Omagh the year before. In 2008, Maldivian led all the way to claim victory, while

, at just his fifth career start, was an easy winner in 2009, giving Bart Cummings his fourth training victory in the race. In 2013, Shamus Award recorded his first career win in the Cox Plate, a unique achievement for a WFA race of such high standing. He gained a start only due to the scratching of dominant favourite Atlantic Jewel. Winx won in 2015 as a 4-year-old mare and in doing so set a new track record. She returned in 2016 when the race boasted a stellar field including the high class Godolphin star Hartnell. Winx and Hartnell looked set for a dream showdown approaching the home bend before Hugh Bowman flicked the switch on Winx, who accelerated away to score by a record breaking margin of eight lengths. In 2017, the champion mare started the Cox Plate as the shortest priced favourite since Phar Lap at $1.10 aiming for her 22nd successive win. After receiving a scare down the straight in the final 200m from Humidor, Winx pulled off an incredible victory to join Kingston Town in becoming just the second triple winner of the title. Winx completed the course in a time of 2 min 2.94 and in doing so broke the track record she previously set in 2015. In 2018 Winx launched herself into true equine legend status winning an unprecedented fourth Cox Plate.

Past winners

For a list of Cox Plate winning horses, see List of Cox Plate winners.

Favourites record

The favourite in the Cox Plate has an overall win rate of 41%. Favourites starting at less than $2.00 (Even money – 1/1) have a win rate of 70%. Phar Lap has the record of shortest favourite at $1.07 (1/14 on) in 1931. More recently Winx started favourite at $1.10 (1/10 on) in 2017 on her way to winning her record-equalling third Cox Plate and in 2018 at her record-breaking fourth win she started at 1.20. * Price: * indicates equal favourite.

Attendance

*2021 – 0 (no public attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions) *2020 – 0 (no public attendance due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions) *2019 – 24,648 *2018 – 38,035 *2017 – 32,617 *2016 – 26,000 *2015 – 27,620 *2014 – 28,216 *2013 – 30,986 *2011 – 30,000 *2010 – 31,546 *2009 – 31,000 *2008 – 34,000 *2007 – 34,561 *2006 – 34,256 *2005 – 44,189Economic Benefits Summary
/ref> *2004 – 32,187 *2003 – 30,109

References

{{reflist

External links

Moonee Valley Racing Clubcoxplate.racingandsports.com.au (Official)
Open middle distance horse races Group 1 stakes races in Australia Sport in Melbourne

History

1938 & 1948 racebooks

Notable winners

Past winners

Favourites record

Attendance

See also

References

External links