Victoria’s premier trainer Darren Weir has put the blinkers back on Humidor for his re-match with weight for age champion Winx in the 2018 Group 1 $5m Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley on Saturday.
Humidor, above in green colours and black blinkers challenging Winx, in last year’s Cox Plate. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Humidor wore the blinkers when second to Winx in her third Cox Plate win last year and Weir said that it is the right time for the hood to go back on.
“We are adding the blinkers for the first time this preparation, it is exactly what we did last year and that got us pretty close,” Weir wrote in his column on Racenet.
Winx is chasing an unprecedented fourth straight Cox Plate win and Weir won’ be upset if his Humidor can bring the Chris Waller trained super star mare’s winning run to an end.
“I have the greatest respect for Winx as a racehorse and Chris Waller as her trainer,” Weir said.
“But I might be the only person going to the Cox Plate on Saturday hoping to see her get beaten.”
“I know how hard that task will be and it’s probably the greatest challenge there is right now but I’m not going there to run second. The money is too good and it’s a race I want to win.”
“And I can look back on last year’s Cox Plate and know Humidor at his best has the ability to stretch her. They are both a year older but I think my horse is in the right form. And I know she is too.”
Humidor is coming off two Group 1 placings at Caulfield with a third to Homesman in the $750,000 Hyland Race Colours Underwood Stakes (1800m) and a third to Benbatl in the $1m Ladbrokes Stakes (2000m) while Winx’s last start was her twenty-eighth successive win when she beat Yougstar and Weir’s second Cox Plate runner Kings Will Dream in the Group 1 $500,000 Seppelt Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 6.
Damian Lane will again be aboard Humidor who has drawn barrier seven in the eight horse Cox Plate field while Kings Will Dream who will jump from gate four with John Allen taking over the reins from Craig Williams.
Winx has drawn barrier six with Hugh Bowman in the saddle again and is the dominant $1.22 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au to win her fourth consecutive Cox Plate and take her unbeaten run to twenty-nine win.
Humidor’s odds have drifted out from $13 to $16 while Kings Will Dream is one of the outsiders of the Cox Plate field at $31.
