A total of 157 horses were entered Tuesday for the A$3.05 million G1 William Hill Cox Plate to be contested Saturday, Oct. 22 at Melbourne's Moonee Valley Racecourse.
Deep in the alphabetical listing but already at the top of most lists is Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), who will look to join the likes of So You Think (NZ), Fields of Omagh (Aus), Northerly (Aus) and Sunline (NZ) as multiple winners of the 2040-metre contest. Already the winner of six top-level contests, the Chris Waller-trained Winx trialled quietly at Randwick last Friday morning in anticipation of a potential first-up run in the G2 Warwick S. Aug. 20. She is unraced since a sensational score in the G1 Doncaster H. at The Championships Apr. 2.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien, who saddled Adelaide (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to win the 2014 Cox Plate, has engaged no fewer than 12 horses, including recent G1 King George & Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. winner Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who could look to improve on his third to Winx in 2015. Other Ballydoyle entries include GI Belmont Derby hero Deauville (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Idaho (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the year-younger full-brother to Highland Reel, who was third in the G1 Investec Derby and second in the G1 Irish Derby, both times behind Harzand (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). That trio is among 22 entries received from overseas, up slightly from 20 foreign nominations in 2015.
Godolphin is well represented by runners based both locally and abroad. Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {GB}), fifth to Winx last October, was untested when eighth in the aforementioned Randwick trial that attracted Winx last Friday morning and he could be joined by his fellow John O'Shea-trained stablemates It's Somewhat (Dynaformer) and Hauraki (Aus) (Reset {Aus}). Sheikh Mohammed's European operation could be represented by the likes of Tryster (Ire) (Shamardal), winner of the G1 Jebel Hatta in Dubai over the winter and who will look to enhance his credentials over 10 furlongs in the GI Arlington Million on Saturday week.
Trainer Darren Weir is fresh off a sensational 2015-2016 season and has several of his runners engaged for the Cox Plate, including G1 Melbourne Cup hero Prince of Penzance (NZ) (Pentire {GB}), while Japanese galloper Tosen Stardom (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is a possible runner for trainer Yasutoshi Ikee.
Click here for the full list of nominees.
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