MV On Track 2018

44 ON TRACK MAGAZINE BUILDING TO THE 100 TH W.S. COX PLATE 1978 - SO CALLED 1969 - DARYL’S JOY 1957 - REDCRAZE When the legendary Colin Hayes received a letter from six war-time friends he’d never met – you could be sure he didn’t think he’d be accepting a Cox Plate winner. That same horse a few years later he noted to be ‘the next Tulloch’ and in the early spring lead-ups people thought he may well have been right with dominant wins in the Liston Stakes and Feehan Stakes. But no sooner the wheels fell off - and so did the punters - with poor efforts in the Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Cup. The horse wasn’t the only one out of form, with his rider Brent Thomson not having ridden a winner for three weeks. The win however would secure ‘The Babe’ his third Cox Plate success in as many rides. Not many New Zealand horses have made quite the impact that Kiwi raider Daryl’s Joy did in his seven-week vacation in 1969. A $1,100 purchase who hit the ground running as a juvenile, his three-year-old spring in Melbourne certainly reaped rewards. Not only was he a 2 ½ length winner over favourite Ben Lemmond in the 1969 Cox Plate, but he did what seemed the impossible and defeated Vain at the same course in the Moonee Valley Stakes. He would also post the VRC Derby to his CV later that spring before continuing to campaign with success in America. New Zealander Redcraze was certainly a familiar face to punters by the time he conquered The Valley’s feature race, again heading down under in his seven-year-old season. This would be his last hurrah, and did he make it count. One man that didn’t was his regular rider Arthur Ward who opted for race favourite Prince Darius, despite partnering the Kiwi to all of his wins in T.J. Smith’s care. With only half a head between the two on the line, pick-up rider George Moore would have the last laugh and provide Smith the first of what would be a record breaking seven Cox Plate wins.