Connections of the recent Group One victor Land Legend made their intentions clear at the outset of Tuesday’s barrier draw for the prestigious Group 1 W S Cox Plate (2040m).
This year’s event will be held at Flemington as Moonee Valley undergoes reconstruction. The distinctive Cox Plate barrier draw procedure permits connections to choose their starting gate once their horse has been drawn. As the first horse to be drawn, Land Legend’s connections swiftly opted for barrier 12, the outermost gate.
Having led from start to finish to sensationally defeat Sheza Alibi in track record time in the Might And Power Stakes, Land Legend was joined on the outside by stablemate Light Infantry Man, another significant speed influence, who will commence from barrier 11.
Aeliana, who was the narrow favourite earlier in the week, will start from barrier 10 with James McDonald in the jockey’s seat. She now shares favouritism at $4.50 with Sir Delius, who drew barrier five.
Ceolwulf, confirmed to be racing again after finishing second to Autumn Glow in Saturday’s King Charles III Stakes, secured a favourable draw in barrier three. Meanwhile, the two three-year-olds, Warwoven and Blind Raise, faced varied outcomes with their barrier selections.
Warwoven, the winner of both the Golden Rose Stakes and Caulfield Guineas, is nearing favouritism at $5 and is aiming to emulate the feat of northern-hemisphere three-year-old State Of Rest, who denied fellow three-year-old Anamoe in 2021.
Blind Raise, the other three-year-old and Guineas runner-up, will depart from barrier nine with Jamie Melham as the rider. The accomplished jockey expressed her strong desire to add a Cox Plate to her collection of Caulfield and Melbourne Cups from the previous year.
“This was the race I grew up dreaming of winning,” Melham stated. “This was my number one race I wanted to win. Obviously, I’m very happy to win a Melbourne Cup and a Caulfield Cup. I’m not going to give those back, but I would love to add the Cox Plate to that. I’m happy with the barrier, with the speed on our outside. We should be able to be positive enough, but get a nice trail, maybe in the one-one. I think it should have won last start… it was massive, most other horses would have folded in that. It wasn’t entitled to run as good as it did and I’m very excited to be given the chance on Saturday. If it means I’m thirsty and hungry all week, so be it.”
Birdman will pilot barrier one for Ben Melham. The Underwood Stakes winner is priced at $13, just behind Turnbull Stakes winner Cosmic Crusader, who is at $10 and drew barrier eight.
“It’s the shortest way home isn’t it,” Ben Melham commented. “If Land Legend leads like everyone anticipates and judging by the draw, they’ve kind of shown their hand, I think the shortest way home in fast run races is probably not a bad way to go.”
Ciaron Maher is also set to field Saint George and Middle Earth, who are backing up from last week’s Caulfield Cup. Attrition, the fourth-placegetter in last year’s Cox Plate, completes the field of 12 for the $6 million weight-for-age championship.
With Land Legend and Sir Delius sharing the top line of betting, punters are keen to find the best racing odds at leading Australian betting sites.
