James McDonald claims 100th Group 1 success in record Cox Plate triumph aboard Via Sistina
James McDonald became a Cox Plate legend with his third consecutive win in the race taking him to his 100th Group 1 success as Via Sistina smashed Winx’s track record.
Horse Racing
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Legendary.
The Cox Plate slogan encapsulated the occasion.
Legendary jockey James McDonald.
Legendary trainer Chris Waller.
Legendary racehorse Via Sistina.
How do you not run in the Melbourne Cup now after the Cox Plate demolition?
That is the question for Waller and Yuesheng Zhang, owner of breeding giant Yulong and Via Sistina.
• PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet’s team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
Eight lengths was the margin – equal to Winx in 2017 – and in track and class record time (2min 1.07sec) about two seconds faster than Waller’s legendary mare (2min 2.94sec).
Australia’s best race anointed Australia’s best racehorse at The Valley, Via Sistina the $5 favourite with Ladbrokes for the Melbourne Cup.
She gave Japanese star Prognosis windburn.
He defeated all but Via Sistina comfortably.
• Records tumble as J-Mac, Via Sistina wow The Valley
Godolphin colt Broadsiding nailed warhorse Mr Brightside for third.
Could he be the one next year?
Pride Of Jenni led early but could not maintain the rage.
The strain of a Group 1 King Charles III Stakes and Cox Plate – seven days apart – evident well before the home bend.
McDonald’s Cox Plate hat-trick coincided with his 100th Group 1 success.
“I think there was more pressure. Obviously, the other two (Anamoe and Romantic Warrior) were well-fancied, but they were very easy horses to ride,” McDonald said.
“This one, she’s not easy. Things needed to go our way and probably the momentum of this 100 has been quite heavy.
“Especially each week, everyone’s been gunning for me and I haven’t been able to get the job done.
“I’ve been made to do it in a Cox Plate.
“I couldn’t even, I couldn’t even imagine it, like it’s been surreal.”
• What the jockeys said: 2024 Cox Plate
Five-time Cox Plate winner Waller lauded Via Sistina.
“I’m blessed to be training horses like this,” Waller said.
McDonald settled third last and allowed the race to unfold as the speed horses jostled for positions.
As pressure mounted Via Sistina only got stronger, sidled up to Prognosis before the home turn and went bang.
McDonald was on the receiving end of such brilliance in 2017 as Hugh Bowman on Winx surged past Hartnell in a stride.
“I was pretty happy to see Prognosis up there, to be fair, and Broadsiding,” McDonald said.
“Two horses that I thought would maybe be back with me, jostling for the same positions, and the pace was nice.
“I had such a smooth run the first half and I thought, I just wheel out, keep it smooth, blend in and she loved it.
“She won like Winx, she blended and gee, it’s just a phenomenal performance.”
Jockey Damian Lane, the 2019 Cox Plate winner, was rendered helpless on Prognosis.
“He was very honest, you couldn’t have asked much more,” Lane said.
“I was confident coming down the side I was going to be a winning chance but Via Sistina was just in another class today.
“She was way too good today.”
Jockey Jamie Kah wrestled with Broadsiding in the run but the colt responded to a mighty challenge.
“He really surprised me at how much of a big baby he is still,” Kah said.
“He spat the bit out at the 800 and Docklands bumped him out the way and I thought we were done but he picked up and found the line.
“I’d say he’s an Anamoe - next year he’ll win the Cox Plate - he’s still a year away.”
‘She won like Winx’
- Glenn McFarlane
Champion jockey James McDonald made it three Cox Plate wins in succession - and brought up his 100th Group I success - when Chris Waller’s wonder mare Via Sistina “won like Winx” in the $5m weight-for-age championship of Australia.
Less than a week after he was unceremoniously unseated at the top of the Valley straight, McDonald sailed away on the mare to an eight-length victory romp - the same stunning margin that four-time Cox Plate heroine Winx achieved in 2016.
In eclipsing Japanese raider Prognosis and a classy field including weight-for-age stars Pride Of Jenni and Mr Brightside as well as three-year-old colt Broadsiding, the seven-year-old scorched around The Valley in a course-record time of 2min 1.07sec, eclipsing Winx’s 2017 benchmark.
“She won like Winx,” a breathless McDonald said after returning to scale to a celebratory kiss from his wife, Katelyn.
“It was a Winx-like performance. I can’t believe it.”
Such was the ease of Via Sistina’s triumph on Saturday that the mare was crunched into $5 Melbourne Cup favouritism with Ladbrokes, with the connections of the horse saying they would “let the dust settle” before making a decision on whether to back her up in Tuesday week’s $8m race.
Maybe Diva was the last Cox Plate victor to win the Melbourne Cup in the same year - in 2005 - with Yulong Investment’s general manager Vin Cox saying: “We’re not going to rule anything out at this stage … we’re just going to enjoy the moment.”
McDonald said he felt “blessed” to reach his triple figure Group 1 success, saying: “I love this race. I love this place.
“And to win a Cox Plate with Chris Waller, who is my greatest supporter, is so special. It’s so fitting he’s brought up my 100th and to do it in such a prestigious race like the Cox Plate.”
It was Waller’s fifth Cox Plate victory, and his first since Winx’s fourth triumph in 2018, with McDonald saying the master trainer deserved every bit of credit after hatching a meticulous plan to get Via Sistina back on track after she stumbled at Breakfast With the Best on Tuesday, running an extra three laps before eventually being caught.
“I thought our hopes were doomed,” McDonald said.
“I think there was a fantastic picture there when I popped myself up and looked and watched her gallop away and, I think, if looks could tell a story, we were stuffed.
“What this mare’s been through, she’s just an absolute star.
“To Chris Waller and all his team, I see Tommy Simpson (Waller’s physio) working on her on Tuesday morning. (Track rider) Chris Harwood flew down on Thursday to work her. And all of them said: ‘Excuse my French’, she’ll sh-t in.’”
At a similar spot on the corner where she had the incident on Tuesday, Via Sistina was already away and gone from his rivals, with Prognosis - who was closer to the pace than expected - in second spot and Broadsiding finishing third.
Mr Brightside was in fourth place, while Pride Of Jenni was one of the first horses beaten, finishing second last, beaten more than 15 lengths.
The stunning storyline capped off a wonderful day at The Valley, where a sold-out crowd partied before, during and after the best two-minutes in Australian sport which included a stirring rendition of ‘Horses’ from Thirsty Merc.
McDonald said the pressure of chasing his 100th Group 1 success played on his mind in recent weeks, with the ease of the win allowing him to make a celebratory gesture well before the winning post.
He copped a $2000 fine, but couldn’t care less.
“When the chips are down and when things are tough, this is a high-tense sport,” he said.
“There’s a lot of money at stake, and there’s some days where you just want to be left alone. These last few weeks have been pretty tough and Katelyn’s been unreal in her support.”
Waller said he “never lost faith” in his horse, even after the track mishap on Tuesday.
“The truth is when she got up and when James got up, all James said to me, ‘the Cox Plate is not on today’,” Waller said of his first conversation with McDonald on Tuesday morning.
“We never lost faith and just just followed our instincts.
“You just had to forget what happened on Tuesday, she’s a good horse and it was my job to prove it.”
Via Sistina was purchased by Yulong Investments for $5.5m at the 2023 Tattersalls December Mare Sales, but the daughter of Fastnet Rock has now pushed her career prizemoney out to more than $6.5m, with some big carrots still left ahead of her.
Yulong’s founder, Chinese billionaire Yuesheng Zhang, was on track to celebrate Via Sistina’s success, and will remain in the country at least until after the Melbourne Cup.
“You don’t ever expect to win a race of the stature of the Cox Plate in that fashion in a course record time,” Vin Cox said on behalf of Mr Zhang.
“We are so happy for the boss and his family.”
Originally published as James McDonald claims 100th Group 1 success in record Cox Plate triumph aboard Via Sistina
Fangirl shows she’s still got it with second Apollo win
It was billed as a clash between Via Sistina and Ceolwulf but Fangirl had other ideas as she stormed home to make it back-to-back wins in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at Randwick.
Lady Shenandoah all class in arrogant return win
Lady Shenandoah is now an odds-on favourite for the Group 1 Surround Stakes after her brilliant first-up win despite the possible presence of unbeaten stablemate Autumn Glow.