2019 Cox Plate Carnival Media Guide

32 The Valley Racecourse, located six kilometres from the Melbourne CBD, is 1805 metres in circumference with the length of the home straight 173 metres. Starting points include the famous 955 metres, 1000 metres, 1200 metres, 1500 metres, 1600 metres, 2500 metres, 3000 metres and the W.S. Cox Plate distance of 2040 metres. The W.S. Cox Plate starts at the top of the straight and is restricted to 14 runners. After jumping, the horses run approximately 200 metres before a left turn, balancing at the mile post towards the 1200 metre post, where horses are required to negotiate another left turn to the 800 metre post. At this point, the horses confront a steady rise of 5.05 metres (16.5 feet) to the winning post and a further two left hand turns. The turns are banked 7.5 degrees and lead into a straight of 173 metres. The Valley racetrack provides sufficient ‘give’ in the ground to allow all horses an equal opportunity. The track and race record for the W.S. Cox Plate is 2-02.94, set by Winx in 2017. The StrathAyr Track provides an extremely resilient, safe and long lasting natural grass surface. It consists of a specially engineered profile that incorporates a base drainage layer of gravel and pipes, a lower layer of sand and an upper rootzone layer reinforced with unique ReFlex mesh elements. The result is a natural grass surface which combines remarkable surface strength, excellent drainage and improved grass growth, allowing increased usage over a longer period. The technology provides greater surface uniformity and the action of the ReFlex mesh elements provides a cushioning effect on impact, lowering the potential for injury. Throughout 24 years of racing there has never been a fast rating on any of the ReFlex tracks. The Moonee Valley Racing Club has enjoyed 24 years of success with the StrathAyr Track. The Hong Kong Jockey Club at Sha Tin have been racing on StrathAyr for over 25 years and Kranji Racecourse for over 15 years, in which the Singapore Turf Club hosts 60 meetings a year. TRACK INFORMATION T HE VA L L E Y R ACECOURS E THE VALLEY IS SITUATED JUST 7 KILOMETRES FROM THE MELBOURNE CBD TRACK RECORDS T HE VA L L E Y S T R AT H AY R T R A CK ( F I R S T ME E T I NG S UND AY, 1 OC T OBE R 19 9 5 ) BE S T W I NN I NG T IME S UP T O A ND I NCL UD I NG 0 4 / 0 8 / 2 019 Distance Date Horse Weight Time Track Rail 955m 22.02.13 Vatican 55.5kg 54.69 GOOD 3 True 1000m 18.09.18 Nature Strip 58.5kg 56.95 GOOD 3 True 1200m 26.10.18 Runson 55kg 1-08.77 GOOD 3 True 1500m 26.10.18 Tamasa 56.5kg 1-28.87 GOOD 3 True 1600m 28.10.17 Lubiton 54.5kg 1-34.42 GOOD 3 True 2040m 28.10.17 Winx 57kg 2-02.94 GOOD 3 True 2500m 27.10.18 Ventura Storm 55kg 2-34.37 GOOD 3 True 3000m 17.02.05 Phayes Tip 55kg 3-08.95 GOOD 7m STRATHAYR TRACK