2023 LADBROKES COX PLATE NOMINATIONS HEADED BY STAR INTERNATIONALS victories, including two of his three Group 1 successes in the Hong Kong Cup and the FWD QEII Cup. Should the Danny Shum trained gelding win the Ladbrokes Cox Plate, he would make history by becoming the first Hong Kong trained runner to win the race. Of the 2022 Ladbrokes Cox Plate field, six have declared their intentions to contest the race again in 2023. They include El Bodegon, Zaaki, Alligator Blood, Mo’unga, Mr Brightside and Gold Trip. Mr Brightside demonstrated his love for The Valley in the autumn with victory in The Sharp EIT All-Star Mile, while the 2022 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip has already been spotted twice at The Valley for track gallops heading into Spring and will make his presence felt in any race he contests again this campaign. The $5 million Weight-For-Age classic will be staged on Saturday 28 October at The Valley over 2040 metres, where the build-up is set to intensify over the coming weeks as Spring aspirants make their anticipated return to the track. The list of 178 entries includes an astounding 48 individual Group 1 winners, 35 three-year-olds (24 southern hemisphere, 11 northern hemisphere), and 17 international runners, with 65 stables represented. Headlining nominations is Aidan O’Brien’s star colt Paddington, rated 125, and Danny Shum’s 123-rated Romantic Warrior, who has already confirmed his intentions to run in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate. Paddington extended his record to seven wins from eight starts last week in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, winning his fourth straight Group 1 race under Ryan Moore. The Ballydoyle stable star will next head to the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York, a race that grants the winner automatic Ladbrokes Cox Plate qualification with flights and expenses paid for. Last year’s Ladbrokes Cox Plate winning jockey James McDonald will be hoping for back-to-back wins in the race this year with Hong Kong’s champion 2000-metre horse Romantic Warrior. McDonald has ridden Romantic Warrior three times in Hong Kong for three HE MOONEE VALLEY RACING CLUB (MVRC) ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE 178 HORSES HAVE NOMINATED FOR THE 103RD RUNNING OF AUSTRALIA’S BEST RACE, THE LADBROKES COX PLATE. BY BEN CALUZZI T
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODA1NTI=