This year’s Tatts Cox Plate was definitely a heart stopper thanks to So You Think and his tremendous two and a half length win against runner-up Manhattan Rain.
Ridden by Glen Boss, the three year old colt dominated the track, breaking early from the group to attain a strong lead in the first 500 meters of the race.
Despite already claiming victory in the Tatts Cox Plate with Makybe Diva four years ago, never has the jockey been seen with tears in his eyes and nothing to say until today.
Gai Waterhouse’s three year old Manhattan Rain was the surprise success of the day with many critics believing the horse was not yet ready for a Cox Plate run.
Despite his defeat, jockey Craig Williams thought he had the race in his grasp after closing in on So You Think in the home run.
Coming in third was John Sadler’s Zipping which ran second in the event last year.
Despite putting up a great fight to try and secure a win, the Steven Arnold ridden horse could not keep up with either of the three year old runners ahead of him.
2007 winner El Segundo ran fourth in what was an emotional run for his trainer, Colin Little after the death of his wife in August.
After suffering from injuries after the eight year olds last weight-for-age race, his fourth place is definitely nothing to be ashamed about.
Daniel Morton’s Scenic Shot ran fifth in the $3 million event however it was Whobegotyou‘s disappointing sixth place which surprised both spectators and racing officials.
As the favourite of the race, Mark Kavanagh’s “superstar” could not get to a prime position near the rail, early in the race and consequently had no chance to make up for lost ground.
Posing as no threat was Whobegotyou’s major rival Heart Of Dreams which also ran a poor seventh place close behind the race favourite.
Waterhouse’s late entry Rock Kingdom ran eighth, while strong contender Black Piranha did not gain enough speed early on to get up to a lead position in the first 500 meters of the race.
Anthony Cummings’ Road To Rock raced to tenth place and Vision And Power followed in eleventh place.
Possibly one of the more unexpected runs was from Speed Gifted which failed to get in the lead early from barrier twelve to finish a mere twelfth place while the wooden spoon goes to Nom Du Jeu in thirteenth place.
The next major event in the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival will be on Tuesday November 3 with the $5.5 million Emirates Melbourne Cup taking place at Flemington Racecourse.
2009 Tatts Cox Plate Results:
1st So You Think
2nd Manhattan Rain
3rd Zipping
4th El Segundo
5th Scenic Shot
6th Whobegotyou
7th Heart Of Dreams
8th Rock Kingdom
9th Black Piranha
10th Road To Rock
11th Vision And Power
12th Speed Gifted
13th Nom Du Jeu
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