Cox Plate winner Cosmic Crusader faces Aeliana and Birdman again in Saturday's Group 1 Champions Stakes, with Aeliana the market favourite.
The Cox Plate gets a second chapter on Saturday. Winner Cosmic Crusader, runner-up Birdman and third-placed Aeliana all line up in the Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) at Flemington, the main event on the last day of the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
Aeliana favourite despite the Cox Plate result
The market has Chris Waller's mare Aeliana on top at around $2.60 to $2.90, ahead of Cosmic Crusader at $3.20. Aeliana was third in both the Turnbull Stakes and the Cox Plate, and gets a handy draw in barrier 4 with James McDonald riding. The swap from Moonee Valley's tight turns to Flemington's long straight appears to be the reason she is preferred.
Andrea Leek's Cosmic Crusader has a strong spring behind him. He won the Turnbull, ran fourth in the Caulfield Cup and then came back seven days later to win the Cox Plate. The catch is barrier 11, the widest in the field.
Birdman, also trained by Waller, was only 0.8 of a length behind in the Cox Plate and has drawn the rail. He is around $5.50 to $6.
The field
- Birdman (Chris Waller, Ben Melham)
- Treasurethe Moment (Matt Laurie, Daniel Stackhouse)
- Von Hauke (Cliff Brown, Damian Lane)
- Aeliana (Chris Waller, James McDonald)
- Light Infantry Man (Ciaron Maher, Mark Zahra)
- Omni Man (Joseph O'Brien, Dylan Browne McMonagle)
- Sir Delius (Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, Craig Williams)
- Land Legend (Ciaron Maher, Ethan Brown)
- Attrition (Mitchell Freedman, Jamie Mott)
- Sabaj (Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr, Blake Shinn)
- Cosmic Crusader (Andrea Leek, William Pike)
The international and the outsiders
Joseph O'Brien's Omni Man is the one horse coming in from a different form line. He was third behind Point Of Law in the Geelong Cup and now drops back from 2400m to 2000m at weight-for-age. Sir Delius, sixth in the Cox Plate, is next in the market at around $7. Sabaj steps up after winning the Listed Melbourne Cup Day Plate on Tuesday.
The punting angle
This is a race where the draw and the track matter. Cosmic Crusader beat these horses fair and square at the Valley, but from the widest gate he will either need to work early or give the others a start. If the track is rain-affected, check how each horse has handled it before you decide between the top three.
The Champions Stakes is Race 8 on Saturday's card.