Yulong boss Vin Cox responds to Via Sistina comparisons with Winx, says overseas trip not on cards

With superstar Via Sistina set to return on Saturday, Yulong boss Vin Cox talks with Ben Dorries about comparisons with Winx, her incredible impact on racing and what 2025 may hold.

Via Sistina (right) drew comparisons with Winx after winning last year’s Cox Plate by eight lengths. Pictures: Getty Images

She’s the super freak who has enlivened Australian horse racing and is wowing a generation of new fans in a similar way to the likes of Winx and Black Caviar before her.

Via Sistina is becoming as big a name within racing circles as any of the champion footy players are in their codes and has even hit the mainstream audience in a way few horses can.

It’s a measure of her popularity that her return on Saturday – in a Group 2 race in Sydney – will arguably be the subject of more pub talk among rank-and-file punters than a Group 1 sprint in Melbourne on the same day.

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Now the dust has settled on an extraordinary four Group 1 winning haul last spring – including demolishing her Cox Plate opposition by eight lengths and shattering the great Winx’s track record – her owners Yulong and trainer Chris Waller are setting their sights on 2025.

Yulong general manager Vin Cox has pulled back the curtains and given News Corp a glimpse inside the extraordinary Via Sistina ride and what the future might hold.

Clearly, Via Sistina’s current achievements cannot probably compare to Winx’s gobsmacking 33 straight wins.

But with champion jockey James McDonald saying Via Sistina’s Cox Plate romp last year was Winx-like, we asked Cox whether the two modern-day equine greats could be mentioned in the same breath.

THE NEW WINX?

“It's not for us to sort of make those comparisons, that’s for others to judge,” Cox says.

“But we are absolutely flattered by it.

“We are just fortunate we are in a position that we do have a mare of that quality and a mare that has been compared to a legend of Australian racing.

“It’s very exciting to be a part of her journey.”

MAKING RACING COOL

Racing faces huge challenges in terms of wagering headwinds, prizemoney cuts and increasing competition from other sports.

But for all the new races, marketing tools and other innovations, it is often just a phenomenal horse that draws people to the sport.

• Group 1 stars ready for blast-off in hot Apollo

Think back to the likes of Winx, Black Caviar and Saintly, Lonhro and Octagonal.

“Superstars in any sport draw crowds,” Cox says.

“The elite athletes are great to see on a racetrack.

“It brings everyone back to what we are here for, which is all about the horse, the athlete and competition.

“No question at all there will be a lot of talk about Via Sistina and there's a lot of hype about her and I think that’s great for racing.”

Via Sistina. Racing Photos via Getty Images.

THE MELBOURNE CUP/HONG KONG?

Yulong’s founder Yuesheng Zhang would love to race a star horse in Hong Kong and would love to win the Melbourne Cup.

Zhang fell in love with the Melbourne Cup on his first visit to Australia in 2013 when he was at Flemington and was gobsmacked by Fiorente’s Cup win.

Last spring, News Corp revealed how it was decided at the up-market Silks Chinese restaurant in Melbourne’s Southbank precinct that Via Sistina would not contest the Melbourne Cup.

It appears unlikely the 2025 Melbourne Cup will be on the agenda, and an overseas trip to Hong Kong even more unlikely.

• Inside the Chinese dinner that led to Via Sistina bypassing Melbourne Cup

“The Melbourne Cup would be a conversation we would need to have and you would need to prepare her especially for it,” Cox said.

“As you know, it was never on the radar last year and that's why we didn't go that way.

“The Melbourne Cup is the Melbourne Cup and it would be a nice race to win.

“Whether we should plan for the Melbourne Cup with her, we haven't really discussed.

“Racing in Hong Kong is important to us and our organisation but for Via Sistina, probably not.

“There’s lots of very nice races to win here in Australia, and she is not getting any younger.

“She is a mare of a bit of age and you've always got to have that in the back of your mind.

“At some stage we are going to have to make the call that she is not racing as well as she may have been, and we will retire her.

“Putting her on a plane potentially could jeopardise the longevity of her racing career.”

Chris Waller, Vin Cox and James McDonald after Via Sistina won the Cox Plate. Picture: Racing Photos via Getty Images

BUCKET LIST ITEM

“Horse of the year accolades would be a nice one to have,” Cox says.

“That would probably be the primary goal.

“She won four Group 1s last spring and watching her and whether she can improve in autumn will be fantastic.

“We just want to keep her at the front end of the results.

“Winning nice races is what it’s all about and her welfare is paramount.”

PRIDE OF JENNI COMEBACK?

There was plenty of fun banter over the rivalry between Via Sistina and frontrunning phenom Pride Of Jenni before Pride of Jenni’s retirement last spring.

Pride Of Jenni’s owner Ottobre wears his heart on his sleeve and in the past has used his social media account to have a dig at McDonald after Pride Of Jenni towelled up Via Sistina in an incredible frontrunning romp to win by 6½ lengths in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick last April.

Pride Of Jenni appears poised for a shock return to racing, raising the possibility the two equine stars could take each other on again.

Cox didn’t want to comment specifically on Pride Of Jenni’s potential comeback but said: “These sort of rivalries and these sorts of races create colour and flair and that is fantastic for racing.

“That is what it is about at the end of the day, it’s about the horse and those of us who have the love of the horse and a love of great competition.”

Originally published as Yulong boss Vin Cox responds to Via Sistina comparisons with Winx, says overseas trip not on cards