MOST CONTROVERSIAL COX PLATE IN RECENT MEMORY
It was a thrilling finish with State of Rest and Anamoe going toe to toe to the finish line in Saturdays Racing Tips Cox Plate meeting at Moonee Valley. However the lead up events and the controversy of the Cox Plate 2021 will be remembered for the controversy surrounding the whole week.
* Non capacity field Japanses horse Keiai Nautique denied as run
* Gold Trip denied a run on vets advise despite trainer saying horse is fit
* fav Zaaki scratched on morning of race
* Protest dismissed State of Rest versus Anamoe
It really began when the club elected to go with a non capacity field and deny the Japanese horse Keiai Nautique a start. This decision had some merit but was also tinged with controversy as connections had all but been promised a start before the horse headed over.
Next the Maher trained Gold Trip was denied a start in the race with 6 separate Victorian racing vets all deciding the horse was lame inspecting him in the 2 days leading up. They refused him a clearance to run which flew in the face of the trainers point of view that the horse was fit and free in its action. This left us with a field of 9.
We get to race morning and the $2.40 fav Zaaki is a scratching. He has an elevated temperature so Annabel Neasham has no other choice but to scratch the fav in the Cox Plate and we are left with a field of 8.
Now to the race itself, for most of it it was a pretty pedestrian sort of race the 3 year old Captivant rolling in the lead and the field slotting into formation behind. For some reason jockeys continue to avoid the “inside” section. However as usual this element was overplayed and there is no surprise that the winner and second horse both cut the corner on the home turn.
State of Rest versus Anamoe
Then to the defining moment when the winner State Of Rest and the runner up Anamoe brushed together at the 100m mark with the winner significantly coming off its line. It certainly could’ve been a race changing incident with Anamoe having its momentum altered. However the stewards determined that Anamoe had 13 strides after the incident to pick up State Of Rest and couldn’t so they believed it didn’t affect the outcome.
Anamoe is a less seasoned horse and copped a reasonably heavy bump from a big seasoned horse who drifted at least 2 horse widths off its line. This occurred at the VERY stage the 3 year old with its lightweight was gathering it in to almost head it. To rebalance and get going again cost Anamoe the race. We are not saying the “seasoned” aspect of these horses should come into it as when you play in the big boys yard you have to cop the bumps. However history shows that being “first past the post” is a BIG advantage in the stewards room in these big races. Do the deed and pray for forgiveness later is the way most jockeys see it. We saw nearly 20 years ago with the “memorable” interference with Sunline, Northerly and Viscount bumping heavily but again Northerly keeping the race “first past the post” is key.
The irony out of the incident is it’s a VERY similar way that Craig Williams (jockey of Anamoe) won a Melbourne Cup. He was aboard Vow And Declare who copped a very similar bump at the 50m but instead of halting his momentum it lifted him to win the great race, another example of the “swings and roundabouts” of racing.
Melbourne Cup bound – Verry Elleegant
Verry Elleegant was a VERY nice run out of the race and if she presses on to the Melbourne Cup she’s right on track. Given her ENOURMOUS run last year (charged late from impossible position) you could do worse than have something on her.
We will always be left wondering about this Cox Plate and could Zaaki have beaten them. Indeed where does Incentivise slot into the discussion amongst these horses and would he have been too strong for them.
Whilst on the discussion of the Cox Place Moonee Valley racing weekend, the Friday night Manikato Stakes is a problem. It will most likely have to shift timeslots given the dilution in field quality because of The Everest the week prior. We suspect the Manikato will now have to become a key lead up race to The Everest perhaps run in September.
Victorian Derby – new fav
Forgot You was a 3 unit BEST BET and took all of the Moonee Valley straight to get past the roughie stable mate (100-1) Commander Harry. It will top the Derby fav off nicely (firmed even further after the win) and certainly goes into next weeks Derby as the one to beat. Commander Harry shortened from $46 into $23 after the run and is one you could entertain as used a STACK of fuel running them along it held on well.
Adelaide “border raider” Dexelation a nice $8 result
Dexelation made it back to back wins this prep after a barnstorming win at the Valley. Our Top Melbourne Racing Tips analyst Pete Brinky is a MASTER at tipping these “Adelaide Raiders” on a regular basis with great success. Pete has a terrific ability to line up Adelaide form in an advantageous way to obtain value as Adelaide form and is generally under rated by the market in Melbourne. This horse was under pressure a long way out but swept nicely on the turn to charge away for BIG win
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