A scintillating win by Maldivian in the Cox Plate reinforced Mark Kavanagh's status as one of the country's leading trainers after he coaxed the horse up off the canvas to put a troubled spring campaign behind him.Earlier this week Kavanagh signalled his intention to send Maldivian over the jumps and to put blinkers on for the Cox Plate run over 2040 metres at Moonee Valley, the scene of two previous wins from two starts for the six-year-old."Everyone was telling me how to train him and I had to
A scintillating win by Maldivian in the Cox Plate reinforced Mark Kavanagh's status as one of the country's leading trainers after he coaxed the horse up off the canvas to put a troubled spring campaign behind him.
Earlier this week Kavanagh signalled his intention to send Maldivian over the jumps and to put blinkers on for the Cox Plate run over 2040 metres at Moonee Valley, the scene of two previous wins from two starts for the six-year-old.
"Everyone was telling me how to train him and I had to stay focused," Kavanagh said.
"It was always the plan to school him over jumps and put the blinkers on for the Cox Plate and I did exactly as I said I would.
"It's a tried and true formula with Zabeels and this horse's form read two from two at Moonee Valley over 2040 metres.
"And he loves Moonee Valley. Horses that love the track excel at it so I was very happy going into the race.
"I was just waiting for the right time to play the trump card."
The right time came at 4.05pm and Maldivian was sent out at $11 after being backed in from $17 since Tuesday and he gave Kavanagh and jockey Michael Rodd little cause for concern.
Theseo crossed over from his wide alley to take the lead but didn't manage to keep it and Maldivian was always poised to strike.
Coming round the home turn, Maldivian led with the rest of the pack looming. Star filly Samantha Miss ($4.60 fav) struggled round the bend but rallied and momentarily looked a threat but was flat at the end of the race and finished third with Zipping ($7) edging her out of second.
The disappointment was New Zealand mare Princess Coup ($4.80) who finished ninth and never looked like running a place.
Maldivian's comeback for his first win since last year's Group One Yalumba Stakes was the crowning moment on a great day for Kavanagh and Rodd after Whobegotyou confirmed his status as the Victoria Derby favourite with a dominant win in the AAMI Vase (2040m) while Sea Battle added to the joy in the Jayco Mile.
Zipping's jockey Dan Nikolic said he thought he would have won had the pace been quicker but was heartened from a Melbourne Cup point of view while trainer Kris Lees will assess Samantha Miss over the next couple of days before deciding whether she presses on to the VRC Oaks on Thursday week.
"It was a great run and I knew she would go well," Lees said.
"Flemington will probably suit her better but we will just wait and see."
Glen Boss, who put himself through a testing campaign to reach the filly's weight of 47.5kg, said Samantha Miss got on the wrong leg for a few strides at a crucial time.
"She got a bit lost and took a while to balance up when they came around the turn," Boss said.
"She was giving ground at the point when she should have been making ground."
But nothing could be taken away from Kavanagh who has been based in Melbourne for less than two years after taking the gamble to move his family from Adelaide.
He has enjoyed Group One success with horses such as Devil Moon, Divine Madonna and of course Maldivian and now has next week's Derby to look forward to with Whobegotyou.