One of the country’s finest trainers will set foot on the vast green lawns at Flemington on Saturday with a serious Cox Plate chance and mixed emotions.
For most of his adult life, Joe Pride has dreamed of winning the country’s weight-for-age championship, and believes he can with Ceolwulf, but he always thought it would be at Moonee Valley.
This year, that is not an option.
Victory in the coveted race, and a $4 million first-prize share of its $6 million purse, will be achieved for the first time at Flemington – a shift in venue to accommodate Moonee Valley’s 21-month closure and $250 million rebuild.
“It’s such an iconic race, and it belongs at Moonee Valley. Everyone knows that,” Pride said before flying to Melbourne this week.
“The race is still 2040 metres, but it doesn’t matter. If it were shifted full-time to Flemington, it’s the Mackinnon Stakes mark II, isn’t it? It’s not the Cox Plate any more.”
Pride is not the only one who will be feeling some melancholy for the past this weekend as one of the jewels in Victorian racing’s crown is played out away from its spiritual home – the tight-turning amphitheatre of Moonee Valley that has hosted many of racing’s most enthralling title fights.
Fans still get misty eyed talking about Bonecrusher’s lionhearted 1986 victory over unlikely challenger Our Waverley Star, or the heart-stopping finish of 1992 when Super Impose exploded late to triumph over a bunch of equine superstars.
“Bonecrusher-Our Waverley Star, it could only happen around Mooney Valley that sort of contest. That’s the race I grew up wanting to win,” Pride said.
“But if I win on Saturday, I’m not going to be worried. And as it turns out, Flemington is more likely a better track for my horse.
“So it’s still the Cox Plate, but I think the Cox Plate belongs at Moonee Valley. I don’t think anyone disagrees with that.”
This year will be a different vibe. Flemington has three imposing grandstands and kilometres of rose-lined walkways. In comparison, the Valley was a saucer-like venue that amplified a din so loud you could barely hear yourself think.
But some things will never change; singer-songwriter Michael Paynter will belt out a rendition of Daryl Braithwaite’s Horses as the competitors make their way onto the track.
“We’re trying to replicate some of that Valley experience at Flemington,” Valley chairman Adam Lennen told this masthead.
The Cox Plate will also remain a racing purists’ day, with Olympics swimmer and race ambassador Sam Williamson and his Swedish partner Linnea Lindberg to be among a scattering of celebrities on course.
But the shift was not straightforward. It took months of spirited negotiations between Moonee Valley Racing Club and the Victorian Racing Club, which governs Flemington, before a deal to host this year’s race was finally struck.
Big bookie Ladbrokes (Moonee Valley) and Gillon McLachlan’s Tabcorp (VRC) agreed to split on-track signage as major partners for the day, while the Valley will pay VRC staff to cater for the crowd.
Flemington will operate at half capacity. Key zones such as the Birdcage, the rails, and the Nursery are being kept closed in preparation for the Melbourne Cup crowds of 100,000.
But Lennen believed that worked in the race’s favour.
“I suspect that even with a 35,000 or 40,000 crowd, a lot of those are going to be on the lawn, weather permitting, and I think actually that may mean the atmosphere is more akin to the old Valley, with the Valley roar, as opposed to having that crowd dispersed over the whole complex,” Lennen says.
Early predictions of 50,000 to 60,000 people swarming to Flemington are unlikely to materialise, in part due to a minimal take-up from VRC members, who have to register online for a free ticket into the track. Valley members will be able to swipe their cards at the gate.
One of the biggest concerns for the VRC has been the track. Not for the nine races on Cox Plate day, but for what comes next – the leviathan of Melbourne Cup week.
“It’s certainly going to be a challenge,” Flemington track manager Liam O’Keeffe told this masthead. “Five big race meetings in the space of 15 days.
“You walk away from any meeting, and you have damage. So we’ve got to make sure we’ve got the track in as good a nick as possible. And fortunately, it is. It’s been racing really well.”
This will be the first time in 15 years O’Keeffe has not been enjoying a drink with friends as a spectator at Moonee Valley.
“I’ll be here at five in the morning and working the whole day, but it’s only for one year, and then we’ll be back there [at the Valley] next year, hopefully. It’ll be a different experience, I’m sure.”
Returning to the Valley next year has been a controversial talking point. The venue is currently a construction site wasteland, and a new grandstand won’t be ready before 2029.
Furthermore, this masthead reported in August that the club would not get the Cox Plate back unless its rebuild met strict industry standards.
But Lennen said work on the new track, with a longer and wider straight, was ahead of schedule, while they were already war gaming the use of temporary infrastructure to host a crowd.
“We’re working closely with Racing Victoria to get racing back at the Valley, ideally for grand final eve next year. We’ll cut the ribbon on the new circuit and welcome people back on track,” he said.
“That effectively will be our Cox Plate preview meeting for 2027.”
History beckons in many ways this year. A victory will see trainer Chris Waller equal the legendary Tommy Smith’s record of seven Cox Plates, while jockey James McDonald needs one more to rival Darby Munro’s record of five. Waller and McDonald team up with second favourite Aeliana, having won the past two with Via Sistina.
“To win the last Cox Plate at the old Moonee Valley was something special,” Waller said this week. “Each one I can vividly remember, and rightly so. It’s just an iconic race.
“But we’re lucky to have a track like this [at Flemington] to be able to use while Moonee Valley’s being rebuilt.”
If Waller and McDonald don’t share the spoils, there are glass ceilings to be broken.
Gai Waterhouse (Sir Delius) and Nat Young (Blind Raise) are endeavouring to become the first female trainers to lift the plate, while a victory to either Rachel King (Warwoven) or Jamie Melham (Blind Raise) would see them inked in the record books as the first winning female jockey.
“Moonee Valley was really like a cycle track, wasn’t it?” Waterhouse said this week. “It was like a velodrome. You could ping off it. But Flemington’s not like that.
“Flemington’s got a much, much, much longer straight, whereas the other was very short and sharp. It’s a different dynamic. It’ll be really interesting. I think the big track will really suit Sir Delius, and it’s his home track, which is a big plus.”
Despite the intriguing storylines, Lennen can’t see a future in which fans will want the country’s greatest weight-for-age race to remain at the country’s most famous track, Flemington.
“I hope this year is very successful,” he says. “I hope that’s the debate after the race [Flemington versus the Valley]. But I really see the Cox Plate being inextricably linked to Moonee Valley.
“I think the Cox Plate is what it is because it was at the Valley. The Valley is what it is because the Cox Plate is run there. It creates a different challenge. I see the Valley as its natural home.”
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