The Valley - Friday 31st October 2020

6 There was no crowd trackside over the two-day Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival, but the show rolled on and it was still as thrilling as ever with plenty of action trackside to enter punters from afar. Melbourne’s fickle weather provided drizzle throughout Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes Night with no substantial rain coming through that was forecast, with those from home enjoying an exciting eight race card that saw Damien Lane score a double. Hey Doc, trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy and ridden brilliantly by Luke Currie, claimed his second Group 1 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes in a track record time of 1:08.76, beating home a fast finishing Trekking who finished second for James Cummings, with Dirty Work third for team Hawkes. John Allen on Trekking viewed the steward’s footage post-race, but a protest wasn’t called and correct weight was declared. Hey Doc now joins Spark of Life (2004/2005), Spinning Hill (2002/2003), Manikato (1979/1982), Tauto (1973/1974) and Dual Choice (1970/1971) as a multiple winner. Fast forward 24 hours and while the roars of the crowd were missing at the coliseum that is The Valley, it was a memorable Ladbrokes Cox Plate Day as Sir Dragonet claimed the ultimate prize, the Ladbrokes Cox Plate 100 trophy. Co-trainers Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace won their first WFA Championship of Australasia, while jockey Glen Boss won a remarkable fourth W.S. Cox Plate. On a day that the Club unveiled Winx 4 in the newly created Tote Park, a bronze statue in honour of the W.S. Cox Plate legend in Winx, Sir Dragonet, an international having his first run for the Maher and Eustace stable in Australia, ran the race of his life to take out the 100th running of ‘The Race Where Legends Are Made.’ Glen Boss rode high in the irons as he crossed the line, his fourth win in the race after winning on Makybe Diva (2005), So You Think (2009) and Ocean Park (2012). He now joins Brent Thomson, Hugh Bowman and Jack Purtell on four wins, one behind Darby Munro who holds the record on five. Connections took home a specially made 9ct yellow gold Ladbrokes Cox Plate 100 trophy valued at $200,000, with $3M in prizemoney for the taking out the legendary race. On a day Glen Boss took out the feature race, it was Jamie Kah’s extraordinary four wins that had everyone talking, only the third jockey to achieve the feat since 1922. Her wins on Sneaky Five (Inglis Banner), Sovereign Award (Powerflo Solutions Stakes), Miami Bound (McCafe Moonee Valley Gold Cup) and La Mexicana (Ladbrokes Crockett Stakes) helped her take out the Catanach’s Brent Thomson Jockey Challenge on 15 points. She finished a clear winner, with Damian Lane second on 10 points and Ben Melham and William Pike equal third on 8 points. Jamie defended her crown from last year when she was an equal winner, this year taking home a Fisher and Paykel Wine Cabinet and a $2,500 Catanach’s Jewellers silver plated whip. While the heaving crowd was missed trackside, the show went as legendary crooner Daryl Braithwaite sang his Valley Anthem ‘The Horses’ to an empty grandstand, with 100,000s watching from home. It was a Ladbrokes Cox Plate Carnival like no other and with an iconic image of a Hall of Fame jockey winning his fourth W.S. Cox Plate, it was befitting of this legendary two-day event and the 100th running of the Ladbrokes Cox Plate. A LADBROKES COX PLATE CARNIVAL WITH A DIFFERENCE