Toorak Handicap winner Alamosa will be trying to emulate the great Tobin Bronze in Saturday's $3 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.Tobin Bronze is the only horse to complete the Toorak-Cox Plate double in the same year, a feat he achieved in 1967 which was the same year he made it back-to-back Cox Plates after also winning the Caulfield Cup.The Toorak hasn't been a great guide to the Cox Plate in recent times with 1993 winner Golden Sword being the only horse to go on and run a place in Austral

Toorak Handicap winner Alamosa will be trying to emulate the great Tobin Bronze in Saturday's $3 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.

Tobin Bronze is the only horse to complete the Toorak-Cox Plate double in the same year, a feat he achieved in 1967 which was the same year he made it back-to-back Cox Plates after also winning the Caulfield Cup.

The Toorak hasn't been a great guide to the Cox Plate in recent times with 1993 winner Golden Sword being the only horse to go on and run a place in Australasia's weight-for-age championship in the past 20 years.

Toorak winners Divine Madonna (2007), Red Dazzler (2006), Regal Roller (2004) and Planet Ruler (1988) all tried and failed in that time.

Alamosa's trainer Mick Price also prepared Red Dazzler and said he was purely a sprinter-miler type and didn't get the 2040m of the Cox Plate, but he is a lot more hopeful that Alamosa can.

A four-time Group One winner, the O'Reilly four-year-old entire has had just one start at that distance range for a 2-3/4 length fifth to Sir Slick, with Xcellent the runner-up, in the Group One Zabeel Classic (2000m) at Ellerslie in December last year.

"He hasn't won at 2000 metres but he hasn't been pointed into it," Price said.

"He's shown he's a good 1600 metres horse, I was very impressed with his win in the Thorndon Mile and after he won the Toorak I had a discussion with the syndicate (Wellfield Alamosa Syndicate) about running him in the Cox Plate and they were 100 per cent happy to do so."

Alamosa topped off his preparation at Caulfield with a 1000m workout and he was timed to run his last 200m in 13.32s.

"He's absolutely in prime condition. I can't have him any better," Price said.

"The horse is looking to burn off a bit of fuel on Saturday.

"It looks like a nice race for him and I think he's looking for it (2040m).

"He only has to come into it at the right time and he has some chance of winning."

Alamosa, who has won 10 of his 21 starts, will stand at Bill Gleeson's Wellfield Stud at Palmerston North in New Zealand next season and a Cox Plate victory or placing would look good on his CV.

Price said most of the entires he had prepared had been good to train.

"Shinzig was a bit tricky, but Perfectly Ready and Red Dazzler were gems as is this horse," he said.

"The good thing about this horse is that he's absolutely bombproof, you could walk him down Bourke Street."

Drawn in barrier seven in the 12-horse field, Alamosa will be ridden by Craig Newitt who rode the Price-trained Pompeii Ruler to finish third to Fields Of Omagh after leading into the straight in the 2006 Cox Plate.

Pompeii Ruler will miss Saturday's race after injuring himself when a close second to Douro Valley in the Yalumba Stakes (2000m) two weeks ago.

Another stablemate, Light Fantastic who was Cox Plate favourite after winning the Liston Stakes first-up at Caulfield, has been spelled after losing form.

Alamosa is at $11 with TAB Sportsbet fixed odds behind the $3.60 equal favourites Princess Coup and outstanding filly Samantha Miss and Zipping ($9).

Princess Coup arrived in Melbourne on a flight from New Zealand on Wednesday night and trainer Mark Walker is quite comfortable as the race approaches.

While she hasn't raced at the Valley, he said she had been there in the past for gallops as part of the plan to come back for a Cox Plate tilt.

"The mare is probably in the best form of her career and hopefully that's good enough on Saturday," he said.

"You always need that little element of luck with backmarkers in case something comes back in your lap.

"But all things being equal she'll run very well."