2019 Cox Plate Carnival Media Guide

11 A record crowd of 13,627 streamed through the turnstiles on Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes Night and they weren’t let down with the racing action when two track records from Runson (1200m) and Tamasa (1500m) were set on the night. The $1M Group 1 feature provided plenty of interest in a field stacked with quality, notably from the Aidan O’Brien stable who saddled up four internationals, while Tony McEvoy’s star filly Sunlight was sent out the favourite. Speed was ensured early when Invincible Star, Judge Edge and Houtzen set a cracking tempo, with jockey Oisin Murphy making what looked like a winning bid for victory in the home straight aboard Spirit of Valor. Little did punters know, that 24 hours later Murphy and the rider chasing him, Hugh Bowman aboard Brave Smash, would have another stirring battle in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate. Brave Smash was seeking Group 1 glory at The Valley after finishing second in the Group 1 Charter Keck Cramer Moir Stakes only a month earlier. Hugh Bowman provided his signature ‘she’s apples’ after returning to scale aboard the Japanese import after he scored by a head on the line to a brave Spirit of Valor, with Kementari and Spright closing strongly late to finish third and fourth respectively. FINISH NO. HORSE TRAINER JOCKEY MARGIN BAR. WEIGHT STARTING PRICE 1 1 BRAVE SMASH Darren Weir Hugh Bowman 9 58.5kg $8.50 2 6 SPIRIT OF VALOR Aidan O’Brien Oisin Murphy 0.2L 14 58.5kg $18 3 2 KEMENTARI James Cummings Glyn Schofield 0.7L 12 58.5kg $8 4 12 SPRIGHT Garry Frazer Damien Oliver 0.8L 13 56.5kg $17 5 13 INVINCIBLE STAR Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Stephen Baster 1L 7 56.5kg $15 6 10 HOUTZEN Toby Edmonds Ryan Maloney 1.75L 4 56.5kg $6.50 7 14 SUNLIGHT Tony McEvoy Tim Clark 3.25L 3 51kg $4.40 8 4 VOODOO LAD Darren Weir Mark Zahra 3.45L 8 58.5kg $16 9 9 FLEET REVIEW Aidan O’Brien Kerrin McEvoy 3.65L 11 58kg $41 10 5 JUNGLE EDGE Mick Bell Dylan Dunn 4.9L 6 58.5kg $81 11 11 TULIP David & B Hayes & T Dabernig Regan Bayliss 5.2L 10 56.5kg $51 12 3 MALAGUERRA Peter Gelagotis Ben Melham 5.4L 1 58.5kg $14 13 7 INTELLIGENCE CROSS Aidan O'Brien Emmet McNamara 5.5L 5 58.5kg $201 14 8 U S NAVY FLAG Aidan O’Brien Ryan Moore 6.25L 2 58kg $6 2018 LADBROKES MANIKATO STAKES REVIEW BRAVE SMASH TAKES OUT THE 2018 LADBROKES MANIKATO STAKES