25 MOONEE VALLEY RACING CLUB 24 The 2018 Ladbrokes Cox Plate wasn’t just a race. It was a blockbuster event, and everyone wanted a piece. There were hats, flags, t-shirts, jumpers, and even a special batch of Carlton Draught cans – all painted in the blue and white Magic Bloodstock colours of Winx. Hugh Bowman, pilot of Winx, had steered Brave Smash to victory in the Manikato the night before, and his eye was in. Tickets sold out earlier than they ever had. After missing the boat initially, we were extremely thankful to find someone selling extras for retail price soon after. We duly scanned. Green lights all round. Good start. We hadn’t been given fake tickets and we were in without fuss. The Racing.com crew was doing the rounds, capturing the festivities of the crowd and the admiration for Winx, and unsurprisingly my friends threw me in the gun and nominated me to face up on camera. Rather than give a corny “Go Winx” message, I offered a race prediction. “She will go straight past Benbatl at the 300-metre mark, and she’ll win by three lengths hard held.” I wasn’t far off at all. 2018 – Winx 4 Benbatl was a worthy opponent for Winx. He was a three-time Group 1 winning entire, trained out of the powerful Dubai Godolphin operation with trainer Saeed Bin Suroor at the helm. He had just beaten fellow Godolphin raider Blair House in the Caulfield Stakes, with Humidor back in third. Adding to the drama of the 2018 Cox Plate was well-known UK broadcaster Matt Chapman, who did his best to stir the pot. Chapman said Winx was beating fairly moderate horses. However arguable that may be, the tone in which he spoke of her did ruffle some feathers. It wasn’t exactly the 2016 Winx vs. Hartnell buildup, but he was the best horse she’d faced in some time and started $10 second elect from a shorter opening quote – pushing her price out to $1.24. A crowd of 38,035 packed into The Valley to witness history. It worked out perfectly. Benbatl went forward and sat in the one-one, while Winx sat in behind him, some two lengths further back. Each horse was going to get their chance, and it was simply down to the best horse winning. After upping the tempo, D’argento and Rostropovich began to weaken. Benbatl went past them, but just as soon as he did, Winx was already on the scene, striding to the lead with supreme confidence. “And The Valley roars!” said Matt Hill as Bowman slipped the great mare a little more leather. It was never in doubt, but Benbatl, to his credit, did go with her for a few strides in the straight to make it interesting. “Greatness. Winx has done it. It’s equine utopia,” Hill added. A direct reference and a one-up on Bill Collin’s “Races into equine immortality” call after Bonecrusher defeated Our Waverley Star in the Race of the Century. The 300-metre mark prediction was right, but the margin was two lengths, not three. Still, hard held. Bang. This time we were a little more prepared for the streamers, which were a welcome celebratory touch. The party had started. She’d done it. The first horse in history to win the W.S. Cox Plate four times. Something we’ll never forget and something we’ll likely never see again. So, what would follow the Winx era? What next? An empty feeling settled in after the Carnival. We must have forgotten that we were talking about the Cox Plate.
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