Cox Plate
Encyclopedia
The W.S. Cox Plate is an Australian Group 1
Thoroughbred
horse race held in Melbourne every October by the Moonee Valley Racing Club
to honour W.S. Cox
, the club's founder. For three-year-olds and over, the race is considered to be the Weight for Age
championship of Australasia
. It is run over 2,040 metres (2,231 yards) on turf, and carries Australia's richest weight-for-age prize of A$3 million. The plate is named for William Samuel Cox
, who established the Moonee Valley Racecourse
in 1883.
The Cox Plate is rated by many to be the truest test of horses' abilities in Australia, and in 1999 it 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 at Ascot
, the Japan Cup
, the Dubai World Cup
, the Arlington Million
, the Hong Kong Cup
, the Canadian International Stakes
, the Grosser Preis von Baden
, the Irish Champion Stakes
, and Breeders' Cup Turf
and Breeders' Cup Classic
.
. Many great horses have won the race twice, including Phar Lap
, Flight
, Tobin Bronze
, Sunline
, Northerly
and Fields Of Omagh
. The legend Kingston Town
won the race three times.
Only one horse has ever won the race in the same year as winning the Melbourne and Caulfield cups, Rising Fast
(1954), considered by many to be the greatest ever horse from New Zealand.
The double with the Melbourne Cup
has only been achieved by six horses, namely, Makybe Diva
, Might and Power
, Saintly
, Nightmarch
, Phar Lap, and of course, Rising Fast.
Only three horses have ever won the Melbourne Cup and then gone on to win the W.S. 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 1925 race was taken out by the brilliant but erratic 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
(33 wins from 78 races) were successful in 1926 and 1927.
Champion New Zealand bred Nightmarch
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 in 1936 and 1937.
The 1938 race was won by the brilliant Ajax (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 the race was only contested by local horses from 1942 to 1944.
In 1946 the Cox Plate was run in two divisions with the great mare Flight
winning the stronger division, and became a dual winner following her victory a year earlier. Hydrogen became the seventh dual winner of the race with victories in 1952 and 1953. The great dual Caulfield Cup
and Melbourne Cup winner Rising Fast
won in 1954. Redcraze
, the 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 full second off the race record in a brilliant front running display to win in 1959.
The mighty Tulloch
, who is often compared to Phar Lap and Carbine
, won the following year, and again set a new race record. Tobin Bronze
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, 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 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. The only triple winner of the Cox Plate, the mighty Kingston Town
, won in 1980, 1981 and 1982. On each occasion he was ridden by a different jockey: Malcolm Johnston in 1980, Ron Quinton in 1981, and Peter Cook 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
at Longchamp
and third to Seattle Song in the 1984 Washington, D.C. International at Laurel. Red Anchor
's victory in 1984 was trainer T.J. Smith's seventh Cox Plate winner. The 1986 Cox Plate was an epic two horse war over the final 800 metres before Bonecrusher
triumphed over Our Waverley Star
by a neck. This epic encounter became known as the Race of the Century
.
Rubiton
, the winner in 1987, went on to a successful stud career where he sired a future Cox Plate winner in Fields of Omagh
. Better Loosen Up
was 30 lengths from the lead, with 1000 metres to run, before winning the 1990 Plate in record time. He went on to become the first - and remains the only - Australian horse to win the Japan Cup
. The eight-year-old Super Impose
won in 1992 and defeated a top class field which included Better Loosen Up
, Let's Elope
and favourite Naturalism
, who lost his rider. Naturalism went on to run second in the Japan Cup
. Australian Horse of the Year Octagonal
was successful in defeating Mahogany
in 1995, while Saintly
gave Bart Cummings
his second winner of the race in 1996 and Dane Ripper his third winner the following year. The 'Peoples Champion' Might and Power
led throughout to win in 1998, setting the current record time of 2m 03.54s, and returned to scale to a massive ovation from racegoers.
In a brilliant front running display, Sunline
won the 1999 Cox Plate, and returned in 2000 to win again by seven lengths (equalling Dulcify's record winning margin), before West Australian champion Northerly
defeated her in 2001 and 2002. In 2004 Savabeel
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 Melbourne Cup
win 10 days later.
Fields Of Omagh
won his second Cox Plate in 2006, having already won in 2003, 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 lead all the way to claim victory, while So You Think
, at just his fifth career start, was an easy winner in 2009, giving Bart Cummings his fourth training victory in the race.
Group races
Group races are the highest standard of Thoroughbred horseraces in Australia. The Australian Pattern Committee recommends to the Australian Racing Board which races shall be designated as Group races...
Thoroughbred
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...
horse race held in Melbourne every October by the Moonee Valley Racing Club
Moonee Valley Racing Club
The Moonee Valley Racing Club is located at the Moonee Valley racecourse on McPherson Street, Moonee Ponds . It is one of three racing clubs in the Melbourne metropolitan area; the others are the Victoria Racing Club and the Melbourne Racing Club...
to honour W.S. Cox
William Samuel Cox
William Samuel Cox was a pioneer of Thoroughbred racing in Australia. He founded the Moonee Valley Racing Club in 1883, on land he leased in 1882. The Cox Plate, a prestigious horse racing event, is named after him....
, the club's founder. For three-year-olds and over, the race is considered to be the Weight for Age
Weight for Age
Weight for Age is a term in Thoroughbred horse racing which is one of the conditions for a race. It means that a horse will carry a set weight in accordance with the Weight for Age Scale. This weight varies depending on the horse’s age, its sex, the race distance and the month of the year...
championship of Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
. It is run over 2,040 metres (2,231 yards) on turf, and carries Australia's richest weight-for-age prize of A$3 million. The plate is named for William Samuel Cox
William Samuel Cox
William Samuel Cox was a pioneer of Thoroughbred racing in Australia. He founded the Moonee Valley Racing Club in 1883, on land he leased in 1882. The Cox Plate, a prestigious horse racing event, is named after him....
, who established the Moonee Valley Racecourse
Moonee Valley Racecourse
Moonee Valley Racecourse is a horse-racing track in Melbourne, Australia which hosts races for Thoroughbreds. Located six kilometers from the Melbourne CBD, it is the home of the Moonee Valley Racing Club...
in 1883.
The Cox Plate is rated by many to be the truest test of horses' abilities in Australia, and in 1999 it 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 at Ascot
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
, the Japan Cup
Japan Cup
The is the most prestigious horse race run in Japan. It is contested at the end of November at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters over the grass. With a purse of ¥476 million , the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.The Japan Cup is an invitational event...
, the Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, the Arlington Million
Arlington Million
The Arlington Million is a Grade 1 flathorse race in the United States for thoroughbred horses aged three years and upward. It is raced over a distance of 1¼ miles on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois in August each year...
, the Hong Kong Cup
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 at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid December....
, the Canadian International Stakes
Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a $2 million Grade I Canadian stakes race on Turf for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario....
, the Grosser Preis von Baden
Grosser Preis von Baden
The Grosser Preis von Baden is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Baden-Baden over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early September.-History:The event was established in 1858, and it...
, the Irish Champion Stakes
Irish Champion Stakes
The Irish Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:The event was established in 1976, and...
, and Breeders' Cup Turf
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 current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...
and Breeders' Cup Classic
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 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
.
Notable winners
Past winners of the Cox Plate included most of the champion racehorses of Australia and New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Many great horses have won the race twice, including Phar Lap
Phar Lap
Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...
, Flight
Flight (horse)
Flight was an Australian Thoroughbred racemare that was the highest stakes winning mare in Australasia. Her courageous efforts made her a crowd favourite during the post World War II era and she had victories over some of the great horses of the time including Shannon, Bernborough, Royal Gem and...
, Tobin Bronze
Tobin Bronze
Tobin Bronze was an Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who competed with great success during the 1960's.A chestnut son of Arctic Explorer from the Masthead mare Amarco he proved to be a crowd favourite due to his stunning good looks and winning 24 of his 44 Australian race starts.His...
, Sunline
Sunline
Sunline was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning racemare of her time, competing on 48 occasions for 32 wins, 9 seconds and 3 thirds to earn A$11,351,607. She won races in three different countries, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. She won successive...
, Northerly
Northerly
Northerly, foaled in 1996, was arguably Australia's best middle distance Thoroughbred horse of the early 2000s. Northerly, trained by Western Australian harness racing legend Fred Kersley, won nine Group One races, including the Australian Cup twice, and the Cox Plate, regarded as the Weight for...
and Fields Of Omagh
Fields Of Omagh
Fields Of Omagh was a champion middle distance Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the early-mid 2000s. He was a half-brother to the stakeswinners, King Brian , Malcolm and Timeless Grace .Fields Of Omagh was trained at Lindsay Park, South Australia by Peter...
. The legend Kingston Town
Kingston Town
Kingston Town was an outstanding Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won a record three Cox Plates and 11 other Group One races in a career spanning from 1979 to 1982...
won the race three times.
Only one horse has ever won the race in the same year as winning the Melbourne and Caulfield cups, Rising Fast
Rising Fast
Rising Fast was an outstanding New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. In 1954 he became the only horse in history to win the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate races in the same season - the Spring Grand Slam - and since that time no Melbourne Cup winner has performed such a feat...
(1954), considered by many to be the greatest ever horse from New Zealand.
The double with the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
has only been achieved by six horses, namely, Makybe Diva
Makybe Diva
Makybe Diva is a British-bred, Australian-trained Thoroughbred who became the first racehorse to win the famed Melbourne Cup on three occasions: 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2005, she also won the Cox Plate. Makybe Diva is the highest stakes-earner in Australasian horse racing history, with winnings...
, Might and Power
Might and Power
Might and Power 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 and Melbourne Cups, and returned at five to become only the second horse in the history of...
, Saintly
Saintly
Saintly 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 , he was bred by his trainer, Bart Cummings, who owned him in partnership with a Malaysian businessman, Dato Tan Chin Nam.Saintly gained...
, Nightmarch
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 the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate in the same year, as well...
, Phar Lap, and of course, Rising Fast.
Only three horses have ever won the Melbourne Cup and then gone on to win the W.S. 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
Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival
The Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival is the name of a Melbourne, Australia Thoroughbred horse racing series held annually during October and November .-The Carnival and its status in the wider community:...
.
The 1925 race was taken out by the brilliant but erratic 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
Heroic (horse)
Heroic was a great Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won 21 races from 5 furlongs to 2 miles and was a Leading sire in Australia.-Breeding:...
(21 wins from 51 races) and Amounis
Amounis
Amounis was a good Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He won 33 races over distances ranging from 6 to 12 furlongs . Of these wins, 27 were in "Principal Races" , 16 of these races have since been promoted to Group One status...
(33 wins from 78 races) were successful in 1926 and 1927.
Champion New Zealand bred Nightmarch
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 the Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate in the same year, as well...
won in 1929 before Phar Lap took out the race in 1930 and 1931.
Another dual winner of the race was Chatham
Chatham (horse)
Chatham was an outstanding Australian Thoroughbred racehorse that was bred by Percy Miller at the Kia Ora Stud near Scone in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales.-Pedigree:...
in 1932 and 1934, as was Young Idea in 1936 and 1937.
The 1938 race was won by the brilliant Ajax (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 the race was only contested by local horses from 1942 to 1944.
In 1946 the Cox Plate was run in two divisions with the great mare Flight
Flight (horse)
Flight was an Australian Thoroughbred racemare that was the highest stakes winning mare in Australasia. Her courageous efforts made her a crowd favourite during the post World War II era and she had victories over some of the great horses of the time including Shannon, Bernborough, Royal Gem and...
winning the stronger division, and became a dual winner following her victory a year earlier. Hydrogen became the seventh dual winner of the race with victories in 1952 and 1953. The great dual Caulfield Cup
Caulfield Cup
The Caulfield Cup, one of Australia's richest Thoroughbred horse races and the richest of its type in the world is held annually by the Melbourne Racing Club. The race is a handicap like the Melbourne Cup, which means that horses that compete in the Caulfield Cup are capable of running on the...
and Melbourne Cup winner Rising Fast
Rising Fast
Rising Fast was an outstanding New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. In 1954 he became the only horse in history to win the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate races in the same season - the Spring Grand Slam - and since that time no Melbourne Cup winner has performed such a feat...
won in 1954. Redcraze
Redcraze
Redcraze was a champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who raced both in Australia and New Zealand, winning major races in both countries....
, the 32 race winner and New Zealand champion, took out the Plate in 1957, as a seven-year-old, ridden by George Moore
George T. D. Moore
George Thomas Donald Moore OBE was an Australian jockey and Thoroughbred horse trainer. He began his career in racing in 1939 in Brisbane where he quickly became one of the top apprentice jockeys and where in 1943 he won the Senior Jockeys' Premiership. He then relocated to Sydney and in 1949 went...
. Noholme
Noholme
Noholme was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1959 Australian Horse of the Year and who took nearly a full second off the race record in winning the prestigious Cox Plate. In 1959 he was Australian Horse of the Year.He was sired by Star Kingdom , the Leading sire in Australia on...
took nearly a full second off the race record in a brilliant front running display to win in 1959.
The mighty Tulloch
Tulloch (horse)
Tulloch was a Thoroughbred racehorse, who is regarded as one of the three finest racehorses in Australian racing history...
, who is often compared to Phar Lap and Carbine
Carbine (horse)
Carbine , was an outstanding New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse, who competed in New Zealand and later Australia. During his racing career he won 30 stakes or principal races...
, won the following year, and again set a new race record. Tobin Bronze
Tobin Bronze
Tobin Bronze was an Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who competed with great success during the 1960's.A chestnut son of Arctic Explorer from the Masthead mare Amarco he proved to be a crowd favourite due to his stunning good looks and winning 24 of his 44 Australian race starts.His...
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, who went on to race successfully in the USA. The popular Goondiwindi grey, Gunsynd
Gunsynd
Gunsynd was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won 29 races and A$280,455 in prizemoney. In his seven starts over one mile he was only once defeated, by half-a-head in the Epsom Handicap....
, 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 became the first three-year-old filly to win the race in 1976, when she defeated the VRC Derby winner Unaware
Unaware
Unaware is a science-fiction horror thriller film directed by Sean Bardin and Robert Cooley. It follows a vacationing couple who discover something disturbing on a rural Texas ranch. Like the films Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project , Unaware is an independent feature presented in...
.
The ill-fated Dulcify
Dulcify
Dulcify was an New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. His British-bred sire was the 1970 Irish 2,000 Guineas winner, Decies, a grandson of Pharis, the very important French sire whom Thoroughbred Heritage says is considered one of the greatest French-bred runners of the century...
strode away to win by seven lengths in 1979. He later started favourite in the Melbourne Cup but had to be put down
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
after breaking a pelvis during the race. The only triple winner of the Cox Plate, the mighty Kingston Town
Kingston Town
Kingston Town was an outstanding Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won a record three Cox Plates and 11 other Group One races in a career spanning from 1979 to 1982...
, won in 1980, 1981 and 1982. On each occasion he was ridden by a different jockey: Malcolm Johnston in 1980, Ron Quinton in 1981, and Peter Cook in 1982. After winning in 1983, Strawberry Road
Strawberry Road
Strawberry Road was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who went on to race in Germany, France, the United States, and Japan...
raced in Europe and the US where he ran fifth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
at Longchamp
Hippodrome de Longchamp
The Longchamp Racecourse is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes in the Bois de Boulogne at Paris, France. Built on the banks of the Seine River, it is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced tracks and a famous hill that provides a real...
and third to Seattle Song in the 1984 Washington, D.C. International at Laurel. Red Anchor
Red Anchor
Red Anchor was a notable Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in Australia with wins in eight Principal Races.A chestnut son of Sea Anchor from the mare Decoy Girl by Decoy Boy, he was foaled in 1981 in New Zealand and was trained by trainer Tommy Smith after originally being trained by Paul...
's victory in 1984 was trainer T.J. Smith's seventh Cox Plate winner. The 1986 Cox Plate was an epic two horse war over the final 800 metres before Bonecrusher
Bonecrusher (horse)
Bonecrusher Is a retired champion New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who was widely admired in both Australia and New Zealand. Bred by Bill Punch, his dam's sire was a son of a French champion, Tantieme. Bonecrusher was purchased by Peter Mitchell for just $3,250 at the Waikato Yearling Sales,...
triumphed over Our Waverley Star
Waverley Star
Waverley Star was a New Zealand Thoroughbred racehorse who is best remembered for finishing second to Bonecrusher in the 1986 Cox Plate - widely referred to as the 'race of the century'. Waverley Star, who was known as Our Waverley Star in Australia to distinguish him from a 1976 foaling of the...
by a neck. This epic encounter became known as the Race of the Century
Race of the Century (Horse racing)
The Race of the Century was the name given to a 1986 W.S. Cox Plate, a thoroughbred horse race in held in Melbourne, Australia, between two great New Zealand racehorses of the 1980s....
.
Rubiton
Rubiton
Rubiton was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the mid-1980s.He was bred by the Oamaru Stud in Victoria...
, the winner in 1987, went on to a successful stud career where he sired a future Cox Plate winner in Fields of Omagh
Fields Of Omagh
Fields Of Omagh was a champion middle distance Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the early-mid 2000s. He was a half-brother to the stakeswinners, King Brian , Malcolm and Timeless Grace .Fields Of Omagh was trained at Lindsay Park, South Australia by Peter...
. Better Loosen Up
Better Loosen Up
Better Loosen Up was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who 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 won 17 of his 45 starts, including eight Group One races...
was 30 lengths from the lead, with 1000 metres to run, before winning the 1990 Plate in record time. He went on to become the first - and remains the only - Australian horse to win the Japan Cup
Japan Cup
The is the most prestigious horse race run in Japan. It is contested at the end of November at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters over the grass. With a purse of ¥476 million , the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.The Japan Cup is an invitational event...
. The eight-year-old Super Impose
Super Impose
Super Impose was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. In a career spanning 74 starts, Super Impose won eight Group One races and a then Australasian record $5.6 million in prize money...
won in 1992 and defeated a top class field which included Better Loosen Up
Better Loosen Up
Better Loosen Up was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who 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 won 17 of his 45 starts, including eight Group One races...
, Let's Elope
Let's Elope
Let's Elope is a Champion Thoroughbred racehorse in Australia.Bred by Highview Stud in Hamilton, New Zealand, Let's Elope was a giant chestnut mare who in 1991 became the first mare in more than 50 years to complete Australia's famed Caulfield Cup - Melbourne Cup double...
and favourite Naturalism
Naturalism (horse)
Naturalism Naturalism Naturalism (foaled 1988 in New Zealand was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse whose wins included three Group One races. Out of the mare Zephyr Souba, he was sired by the Kentucky-born Palace Music who also sired the great United States Hall Racing of Fame inductee, Cigar...
, who lost his rider. Naturalism went on to run second in the Japan Cup
Japan Cup
The is the most prestigious horse race run in Japan. It is contested at the end of November at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters over the grass. With a purse of ¥476 million , the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.The Japan Cup is an invitational event...
. Australian Horse of the Year Octagonal
Octagonal
Octagonal is a retired champion New Zealand-bred, Australian raced Thoroughbred racehorse, also known as 'The Big O' or 'Occy'. He was by the champion sire Zabeel, out of the champion broodmare Eight Carat, who also produced Group One winners Mouawad, Kaapstad, Diamond Lover and Marquise.Trained...
was successful in defeating Mahogany
Mahogany (horse)
Mahogany was an Australian thoroughbred who raced in the mid-1990s. He was aimed at the three-year-old staying events, where he won the Victoria Derby and the Australian Derby. But as an older horse he usually was restricted to sprint races.The notable exception was the 1995 W.S. Cox Plate where...
in 1995, while Saintly
Saintly
Saintly 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 , he was bred by his trainer, Bart Cummings, who owned him in partnership with a Malaysian businessman, Dato Tan Chin Nam.Saintly gained...
gave Bart Cummings
Bart Cummings
James Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He is known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as the he has won the 'race that stops a nation' a record 12 times....
his second winner of the race in 1996 and Dane Ripper his third winner the following year. The 'Peoples Champion' Might and Power
Might and Power
Might and Power 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 and Melbourne Cups, and returned at five to become only the second horse in the history of...
led throughout to win in 1998, setting the current record time of 2m 03.54s, and returned to scale to a massive ovation from racegoers.
In a brilliant front running display, Sunline
Sunline
Sunline was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning racemare of her time, competing on 48 occasions for 32 wins, 9 seconds and 3 thirds to earn A$11,351,607. She won races in three different countries, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. She won successive...
won the 1999 Cox Plate, and returned in 2000 to win again by seven lengths (equalling Dulcify's record winning margin), before West Australian champion Northerly
Northerly
Northerly, foaled in 1996, was arguably Australia's best middle distance Thoroughbred horse of the early 2000s. Northerly, trained by Western Australian harness racing legend Fred Kersley, won nine Group One races, including the Australian Cup twice, and the Cox Plate, regarded as the Weight for...
defeated her in 2001 and 2002. In 2004 Savabeel
Savabeel
Savabeel was a successful New Zealand-bred and Australian-trained brown colt Thoroughbred race horse foaled on 23 September 2001.In Spring 2004 he won the race considered the Weight for Age Championship of Australasia, the Cox Plate. He was the first 3YO to win the race since another son of Zabeel,...
became the first 3 year old to win since Octagonal. In 2005, Makybe Diva
Makybe Diva
Makybe Diva is a British-bred, Australian-trained Thoroughbred who became the first racehorse to win the famed Melbourne Cup on three occasions: 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2005, she also won the Cox Plate. Makybe Diva is the highest stakes-earner in Australasian horse racing history, with winnings...
triumphed and became one of the most popular horses in Australian racing history with an unprecedented third Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
win 10 days later.
Fields Of Omagh
Fields Of Omagh
Fields Of Omagh was a champion middle distance Australian Thoroughbred racehorse of the early-mid 2000s. He was a half-brother to the stakeswinners, King Brian , Malcolm and Timeless Grace .Fields Of Omagh was trained at Lindsay Park, South Australia by Peter...
won his second Cox Plate in 2006, having already won in 2003, 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 lead all the way to claim victory, while So You Think
So You Think
So You Think 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 age race. His second Cox Plate win came at just his tenth career start...
, at just his fifth career start, was an easy winner in 2009, giving Bart Cummings his fourth training victory in the race.
Favourites record
The favourite in the Cox Plate has an overall win rate of 41%. Favourites starting at less than $2.00 have a win rate of 70%. Phar Lap has the record of shortest favourite at $1.07 (14/1 on) in 1931.| Year |
Favourite |
Price |
Finish |
| 2011 | Helmet | 3.30 | 8 |
| 2010 | So You Think So You Think So You Think 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 age race. His second Cox Plate win came at just his tenth career start... |
1.50 | 1 |
| 2009 | Whobegotyou | 2.75 | 6 |
| 2008 | Samantha Miss | 4.50 | 3 |
| 2007 | Miss Finland | 4.00 | 4 |
| 2006 | Racing To Win | 3.75 | 11 |
| 2005 | Makybe Diva | 2.00 | 1 |
| 2004 | Elvstroem | 4.20 | 8 |
| 2003 | Lonhro | 1.60 | 3 |
| 2002 | Northerly | 4.00* | 1 |
| 2002 | Lonhro | 4.00* | 6 |
| 2001 | Sunline | 2.75 | 2 |
| 2000 | Sunline | 2.38 | 1 |
| 1999 | Redoute's Choice | 4.50 | 5 |
| 1998 | Might and Power | 1.73 | 1 |
| 1997 | Filante | 2.38 | 2 |
| 1996 | Filante | 3.25* | 2 |
| 1996 | Juggler | 3.25* | 4 |
| 1995 | Danewin | 4.50* | 9 |
| 1995 | Our Maizcay | 4.50* | 14 |
| 1994 | Jeune | 4.00 | 13 |
| 1993 | Naturalism | 3.00 | 4 |
| 1992 | Naturalism | 2.00 | 13 |
| 1991 | Shaftesbury Avenue | 2.50 | 12 |
| 1990 | Better Loosen Up | 3.00 | 1 |
| 1989 | Almaarad | 3.75 | 1 |
| 1988 | Our Poetic Prince | 2.25 | 1 |
| 1987 | Rubiton | 2.75 | 1 |
| 1986 | Bonecrusher | 1.90 | 1 |
| 1985 | Drawn | 4.50 | 3 |
| 1984 | Red Anchor | 1.73 | 1 |
| 1983 | Sir Dapper | 4.50* | 5 |
| 1983 | Emancipation | 4.50* | 11 |
| 1982 | Kingston Town | 2.75 | 1 |
| 1981 | Kingston Town | 1.67 | 1 |
| 1980 | Kingston Town | 2.50 | 1 |
| 1979 | Dulcify | 2.75 | 1 |
| 1978 | La Mer | 2.75 | 6 |
| 1977 | Luskin Star | 2.75 | 9 |
| 1976 | How Now | 2.75 | 4 |
| 1975 | Wave King | 7.00 | 5 |
| 1974 | Taras Bulba | 3.50 | 2 |
| 1973 | Young Ida | 5.00 | 7 |
| 1972 | Gunsynd | 2.50 | 1 |
| 1971 | Igloo | 3.75 | 2 |
| 1970 | Gay Poss | 2.75 | 6 |
| 1969 | Ben Lomond | 2.75 | 2 |
| 1968 | Rajah Sahib | 2.75 | 1 |
| 1967 | Tobin Bronze | 1.17 | 1 |
| 1966 | Tobin Bronze | 1.90 | 1 |
| 1965 | Winfreux | 2.38 | 2 |
| 1964 | Strauss | 3.50 | 5 |
| 1963 | Sometime | 2.25 | 3 |
| 1962 | Aquanita | 1.80 | 1 |
| 1961 | Sky High | 1.44 | 3 |
| 1960 | Tulloch | 3.00 | 1 |
| 1959 | Travel Boy | 3.50 | 6 |
| 1958 | Prince Darius | 3.00 | 4 |
| 1957 | Prince Darius | 2.11 | 2 |
| 1956 | Rising Fast | 2.75 | 2 |
| 1955 | Rising Fast | 2.50 | 6 |
| 1954 | Rising Fast | 2.38 | 1 |
| 1953 | Carioca | 3.25 | 5 |
| 1952 | Hydrogen | 2.38 | 1 |
| 1951 | Hydrogen | 2.25 | 2 |
| 1950 | Delta | 2.38 | 5 |
| 1949 | Comic Court | 2.25 | 2 |
| 1948 | Phoibos | 2.50 | 2 |
| 1947 | Royal Gem | 2.75 | 4 |
| 1946 | Flying Duke | 3.50 | 5 |
| 1946 | St. Fairy | 3.00 | 7 |
| 1945 | Lawrence | 1.90 | 4 |
| 1944 | Lawrence | 1.50 | 2 |
| 1943 | Amana | 3.50 | 1 |
| 1942 | Great Britain | 3.25 | 13 |
| 1941 | Beau Vite | 1.33 | 1 |
| 1940 | Beau Vite | 2.75 | 1 |
| 1939 | High Caste | 1.90 | 5 |
| 1938 | Ajax | 1.50 | 1 |
| 1937 | Young Idea | 3.00 | 1 |
| 1936 | Mala | 4.00 | 2 |
| 1935 | Hall Mark | 3.00 | 2 |
| 1934 | Chatham | 3.00 | 1 |
| 1933 | Chatham | 1.53 | 4 |
| 1932 | Chatham | 2.11 | 1 |
| 1931 | Phar Lap | 1.07 | 1 |
| 1930 | Phar Lap | 1.14 | 1 |
| 1929 | Nightmarch | 2.25 | 1 |
| 1928 | Ramulus | 4.00* | 2 |
| 1928 | Amounis | 4.00* | 7 |
| 1927 | Amounis | 4.00* | 1 |
| 1927 | Gothic | 4.00* | 3 |
| 1926 | Heroic | 1.80 | 1 |
| 1925 | Manfred | 1.80 | 1 |
| 1924 | Whittier | 2.50 | 2 |
| 1923 | Easingwold | 2.50 | 1 |
| 1922 | Tangalooma | 2.50 | 6 |
- Price: * indicates equal favourite.