West Australian gelding Cosmic Crusader ran down Birdman and favourite Aeliana to win the $6 million Cox Plate at Flemington, giving trainer Andrea Leek and jockey William Pike a famous double.
Cosmic Crusader has won the 150th running of the Cox Plate, flying home from the back half of the field to beat Birdman by three-quarters of a length at Flemington on Saturday. Favourite Aeliana was only a head away in third, completing a big day for the West Australian stable and a frustrating one for Chris Waller, who trained both minor placegetters.
The six-year-old gelding started at $9.50 and recorded his 12th win from 24 starts. The race was held at Flemington for the first time while Moonee Valley is redeveloped.
How the race was run
Ciaron Maher's pair Land Legend and Light Infantry Man made sure there was no shortage of speed, and that suited the backmarkers. William Pike settled Cosmic Crusader third-last and waited until the 400m before asking for his run. Once balanced up in the long Flemington straight, the son of Maurice wound up strongly and was on top late.
- 1st Cosmic Crusader (William Pike) – trainer Andrea Leek, $9.50
- 2nd Birdman (Ben Melham) – trainer Chris Waller
- 3rd Aeliana (James McDonald) – trainer Chris Waller
- 4th Ceolwulf – trainer Joseph Pride
Long-time early favourite Sir Delius was caught in the straight and finished sixth, while Caulfield Guineas winner Warwoven ran seventh, a little over five lengths from the winner.
A history-making win for the West
The win completes a remarkable spring for the gelding, who has now won two Group 1s over 2000m-plus at Flemington this campaign – the Turnbull Stakes and the Cox Plate – after taking the Group 2 PB Lawrence Stakes at Caulfield in August and running placings in the Memsie and Underwood Stakes.
Andrea Leek becomes only the third female trainer to win the Cox Plate, just weeks after her first Group 1 success. Pike, one of the best riders in Western Australia, becomes the first WA-based jockey to win the race. Owner-breeder Bob Peters, a WA Racing Hall of Famer, described it as the biggest win of his long career.
The punting angle
Two things stood out. First, a genuine tempo at Flemington set the race up for horses ridden with cover and a late kick, so keep an eye on how speed maps shape up for the big Flemington races over the next fortnight. Second, Cosmic Crusader's earlier placings in strong weight-for-age races were a reliable guide. Horses that keep running well against Group 1 opposition without winning are often better value than the headline-grabbers.
Waller's pair both ran big races and can be marked up for their next starts, while the beaten favourites will need a reason to bounce back before they are trusted again.