Cox Plate: Big hopes dawn for pint-sized Irish stayer El Bodegon

He’s a lightweight in a field of heavy hitters. What Irish stayer El Bodegon lacks in size he makes up with heart.

El Bodegon is taken for a dawn run at Moonee Valley on Tuesday ahead of Saturday’s Cox Plate. Picture: Getty Images

He’s a lightweight in a field of heavy hitters. What Irish stayer El Bodegon lacks in size he makes up with heart.

The pint-sized colt tore up the Moonee Valley grass at dawn on Tuesday, giving those present a hint of why the $9 chance in Saturday’s $5m Cox Plate is making punters nervous.

“This horse might be small, but he will run through a brick wall for you,” his former trainer James Ferguson has said. “I’m pretty sweet on his chances in the Cox Plate.”

The three-year-old pocket rocket weighs in at 415kg and will be one of the smallest Cox Plate contenders ever. Most racehorses tip the scales in the 460-540kg range. The X-factor horse has been paired up with Chris Waller, who has four Cox Plate victories – all courtesy of Winx.

They may well prove to be the winning combination.

On Tuesday morning, El Bodegon took one of his first gallops at the Valley and he got around the course’s tight corners well, according to Waller. Those watching on at the Cox Plate Breakfast with The Stars got their first glimpse of the European import.

Damien Oliver will be guiding the horse this Saturday. It’s the veteran jockey’s 20th appearance in Australia’s premier weight-for-age race and the 25th anniversary of his first win in the Group 1 classic on $41 chance Dane Ripper (who was sired by Danehill, the grandsire of El Bodegon).

“He’s stretching out well, he was nice and bright and Damien Oliver, who is one of the best judges, gave the tick of approval post-work,” Waller told SEN radio.

“His European form line is very good. I think the stayers up there (in Europe) don’t need to be introduced to Australia. They’re very good. He just needs to be able to lift a little. He’s a Group I winner but that was as a two-year-old in France, probably not the strongest of form races. But in saying that, his subsequent form without winning the big races has been very good.”

To win, El Bodegon must emulate Sir Dragonet in 2020 and claim the Cox Plate with his maiden run in Australia. But victory will put his name alongside some of the greats including Phar Lap, Tulloch, Kingston Town, Octagonal, Makybe Diva and Winx.

El Bodegon has won three of nine starts in England and France, including the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud he won as a two-year-old. He will jump from barrier eight.