The greatest two minutes in sport: The Cox Plate

No, just a horse race. I do like the big 2000m races though.

Max Power, Sometimes people don't say enough in their responses, or where they're directing their reply. Are you responding to Nathan Absalom, suggesting that Australian Cup fields have been superior? Or are you responding to me, suggesting that Australian Cup fields have been poor. If to me, my comment about the Australian Cup was mainly about track comparisons & allied opportunities. I must admit I don't follow racing as closely as I once did. I wasn't commenting on a comparison of field entries. Besides, I said so much more that I thought was worthy of return comment than just one throwaway line.

you obviously have not seen some of the australian cup fields recently

It's pretty difficult comparing horses from different eras, but geez Winx was dominant. A shame Kingston Town never met Dulcify in a Cox Plate. This year is shaping up as a classic renewal of the race though, miles above anything else this year.

Bonecrusher

Chips In, Interesting article, I enjoyed it. I’m not a fan of the ‘grand slam’ or even the ‘golden grand slam’ for jockeys. The original choice of races was selectively flawed, which should have included the Doncaster Mile ahead of the Golden Slipper. Nor are any of the derbies included, especially the Australian Derby. As a purist I would include any derby before a 2yo race & also the Newmarket as a superior 1200m race, but that’s just me. I also think the Australian Cup equal to the Cox Plate, & run on a more even-opportunity friendly track. Then there’s our Prix de l’Arc, the HE Tancred Stakes. Maybe we should aim for a ‘golden dozen’, six races from each of Melbourne & Sydney. 6 Melbourne races – Melbourne Cup, open hcp, 3200m; Caulfield Cup, open hcp, 2400m; WS Cox Plate, open wfa, 2040m; Victorian Derby, 3yo sw, 2000m (not 2500m); Australian Cup, open wfa, 2000m & Newmarket Hcp, open hcp, 1200m. 6 Sydney races – HE Tancred Stakes, open wfa, 2400m; Australian Derby, 3yo sw, 2400m; Queen Elizabeth Stakes, open wfa, 2000m; Doncaster Mile, open hcp, 1600m; Golden Slipper, 2yo sw, 1200m & The Everest, open wfa, 1200m. I’m not even sure The Everest should be there ahead of the TJ Smith Stakes, run at the same venue (different carnivals), same race conditions & same distance. That’s 5 races from Sydney autumn carnival; 4 from Melbourne spring carnival; two from Melbourne autumn carnival & one from Sydney spring carnival. But of course, it suits the media & major racing authorities to stick with a small, select, but flawed four races – the so called ‘grand slam’. I still remain cautious of the long-term success of The Everest. It’s inspiration, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes in the USA, has subsequently bombed, dropping from a high prize money watermark of US18 million down to US$3 million, so it remains to be seen if the ATC can avoid the pitfalls that have bedevilled the American edition. I’m not a fan of money-only or money-primary types of events, because I think they ultimately bite the dust if it’s only, or mostly about the money. Long before either the Pegasus or Everest were conceived, the mighty Phar Lap’s last race win in 1932 was in the Agua Caliente Hcp in Tijuana across the border in Mexico. The Agua Caliente was a huge prize money-race (for its time) conceived on similar lines of attracting huge wagering & well-heeled visitors from Southern California. But the depression quickly brought it to heel. However, I acknowledge that thoroughbred racing & wagering have gone hand in hand ever since organised racing began in the late 1700s. The idea of corporate bookies expanding into other sports is a relatively new money making gimmick. Most, but not all of the great champions have raced in & won the Cox Plate. When I first came into following horse racing as a 10 year old, the two great champions of the mid-60s, Tobin Bronze & Galilee battled each other magnificently during the season of 1966/67. Tobin Bonze was usually the superior over 2000m, while Galilee could match & beat him at 2400m. Ironically, trainer Bart Cummings only thought of Galilee as a wfa horse after his Caulfield-Melbourne Cups double of 1966. Throw in the 1967 Sydney Cup for good measure. Injury prevented him racing at all as a 5yo & when he returned as a 6yo, Cummings set him for another Melbourne Cup. Tobin Bronze of course, won two Cox Plates as well as a Caulfield Cup & Doncaster Mile. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but in 1968 Cummings should have set Galilee for the Cox Plate & forgot about the Melbourne Cup. After all, Galilee had already won that race. Besides, he was asked to carry 10st 1lb (64 kgs), struggling home gallantly into 8th place. Significantly, no horse has been asked to carry such a huge weight ever since. From memory, Kingston Town, with 61 kgs (9.8) was the next highest weight when he bombed in 1981, finishing near the tail of the field. The Cox Plate of 1968 was won by the 3yo Rajah Sahib, a beautifully named good horse, but by no means great. Had Galilee raced in & won the Cox Plate that year, which he could very well have done so, it would have elevated his already considerable status even higher. We know that Cummings was our most legendary horse trainer. But perhaps he missed a huge opportunity back in 1968. However, we might also say in hindsight he was right in wanting to keep So You Think racing in Oz. I don’t know if Winx winning the Cox Plate four times was a good thing or not. Great Champion that she was, I don’t think she was better than Kingston Town (who won 3 Cox Plates), & also enjoyed a spread of wins over a greater variety of conditions & distances. I also think Winx didn’t enjoy the same quality of high opposition faced by Kingston Town & other champions of the past. But thanks for the article. It allowed me to reminisce & also drop in some of my ‘hobby horse’ concerns.