17 MOONEE VALLEY RACING CLUB 16 484 Heidelberg Road, Fairfield VIC 3078 Tel. 9489 7777 128 Denmark Street, Kew VIC 3101 Tel. 9853 6669 380 Copper Street, Epping VIC 3076 Tel. 9409 9999 LMCT 433 www.mb3point.com.au enquiries@3point.com.au 3 Point Motors Proudly family owned and operated for over 60 years. Spring is in the air At 3 Point Motors in Fairfield, Kew and Epping As a proud sponsor of Moonee Valley Racing Club, 3 Point Motors shares the Spring Carnival’s values of passion, performance and elegance. As days become longer and warmer, what better time than to getaway and go for a favourite road trip, or simply to treat yourself with a new Mercedes-Benz driving experience. 3 Point Motors is one of Australia’s longest Mercedes-Benz authorised retailer since 1961, and is proudly family owned and operated for over 60 years. With a large range of new and pre-owned vehicles ready for immediate delivery, competitive trade-in prices, and winner of Mercedes-Benz Circle of Excellence in 2019, 2020 and 2021, 3 Point Motors is your destination of choice for all your Mercedes-Benz needs. MY FAVOURITE COX PLATE MEMORY The third Cox Plate win of Kingston Town in 1982 is still my benchmark Cox Plate. It was a kaleidoscope of colour, drama, noise and action as the big black horse came from what looked an unlikely winning position to win an historic third Cox Plate. and age at Moonee Valley, which would be the first of three wins at the circuit. She took on the boys initially in feature races and kicked off her spring with a win in the Ascot Vale Stakes (now known as the Coolmore Stud Stakes) over 1200m at Flemington in early September. Then was it back to The Valley for the Moonee Valley Stakes (now known as the Bill Stutt Stakes), where her trainer Geoff Murphy was happy to take on the males in her age group to win again. On that occasion, she defeated her stablemate and fellow three-year-old filly Savoir (by Sovereign Edition) with Family Of Man third. Then she thrashed her rivals in the Caulfield Guineas and remains the last filly to win that race as well. Murphy then decided to take on the Cox Plate, but he had to put a different rider on as her regular jockey Alan Trevena couldn’t make the weight. Murphy turned to lightweight Sydney jockey Peter Cook who rode her at 47.5kg. Despite her form and her light weight, the Colin Hayes-trained mare How Now – who had won the Caulfield Cup the week before – was sent out as a $2.75 favourite with Surround second pick at $4.50. Cook positioned Surround in a superb position just off the speed, and she surged to the front before the turn to put the contest to bed. The only interest was her winning margin - which turned out to be three lengths. Surround also took over a second off the course record, recording a time of 2:04.30 seconds which stood until Red Anchor broke it in 1984. Following in her wake was the subsequent Victoria Derby winner Unaware and the Melbourne Cup winner in Van Der Hum. The spring wasn’t over for Surround as she went on to win the VRC Oaks. Now let’s look at how difficult it has proven to be for three-year-old fillies since Surround. Between 1977 and 1990, nine fillies ran in the Cox Plate, and none were placed. Since then, only a handful of three-year-old fillies have tried, with some running big races. In 1992, Slight Chance finished third in one of the most memorable Cox Plates of all time. The Sydneytrained filly took on a field of ageing superstars such as Super Impose, Better Loosen Up and Let’s Elope. In a helter-skelter race marred by interference, Slight Chance boasted a third placing behind Super Impose. She was fourth over the line but protested successfully against Let’s Elope and was promoted to third. Another filly - the 1992 Golden Slipper winner – Burst finished tenth. The next filly to try and win it was the David Hayestrained Miss Finland in 2007 who finished an unlucky fourth behind El Segundo after a poor ride. In 2008, punters sent out the Kris Lees-trained filly Samantha Miss as a $4.50 favourite, after she had made a clean sweep of races against her own sex in Sydney. Her winning streak was five in a row, and she put in a valiant effort to finish third. She made a swooping run and challenged the front runner and eventual winner Maldivian before the turn, but she tired to finish third. The last filly to try was Yankee Rose in 2016 who finished a gallant third 8.75 lengths astern of the super mare Winx in the first of her Cox Plate wins. There’s no question Surround was something special and her legacy in Cox Plate history could live on for many years to come.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA1NTI=