Melbourne Cup or Hong Kong Cup on the table for Via Sistina

The team around record-breaking Cox Plate heroine Via Sistina will spend the next few days weighing up options for the mare including next week’s Melbourne Cup.

Via Sistina with Sam Fairgray from Yulong at Altona Beach on Sunday. Photo: Vince Caligiuri/Getty Images.

The team around record-breaking Cox Plate heroine Via Sistina will spend the next few days weighing up options for the mare including next week’s Melbourne Cup.

Yulong Investment’s general manager Vin Cox said the operation is considering tackling Tuesday week’s $8 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) or setting her for the $8 million Hong Kong Cup (2000m) in December.

Cox on Sunday morning said they were keen to let the dust settle and monitor the seven-year-old’s recovery before finalising a pathway forward, following her eight-length, track-record victory in the Cox Plate.

VIA SISTINA IS THE 2024 COX PLATE CHAMPION! 💚

JAMES MCDONALD NOTCHES UP HIS 100TH GROUP 1! 💯@cwallerracing@mcacajamez@[e-mail]/T0vZZwrfNQ

— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 26, 2024

“There are a lot worse decisions to have to make than this,” Cox said.

“We just want to let the horse settle down and see where we are at, (we’ll) get our feet back on the ground and clear our heads.

“We have a little bit of time. She is in the race (the Melbourne Cup), so there is no need to worry about it too much yet.”

As much as the Melbourne Cup is enticing – given Via Sistina is now a $5 favourite with Ladbrokes – so too is the race in Hong Kong, given Yulong’s founder Yuesheng Zhang has strong business connections there.

If Yulong chooses the overseas option, it would pit Via Sistina against last year’s Cox Plate winner Romantic Warrior, who will be chasing a third straight Hong Kong Cup.

That would also put superstar jockey James McDonald in a difficult position where he would have to choose between the two horses he has developed such a close affinity with.

McDonald has been aboard Romantic Warrior in the horse’s two Hong Kong Cup wins, as well as the Cox Plate last year.

The dynamic duo strikes again! 🏆

Romantic Warrior & @mcacajamez have won the FWD QEII Cup from Hong Kong! pic.twitter.com/9Nj3pYbqKM

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 28, 2024

“Hong Kong is very much on the radar,” Cox said on Sunday. “The boss (Mr Zhang) has got some strong connections in Hong Kong and throughout Asia.

“It’s important from that perspective, but equally so, the Melbourne Cup has some too.”

No horse has won the Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup double in the same year since the mighty Makybe Diva in 2005, but given the manner of Via Sistina’s win, she has rocketed to Cup favouritism.

The mare has already been installed as $2.20 favourite for the $3 million Champions Stakes (2000m) on the final day of the Flemington, if she happens to bypass the Melbourne Cup.

READ: Fantastic five: Via or not, Waller boasts strong Melbourne Cup hand

Cox said Yulong’s philosophy as a racing and breeding business always centred around what was best for the horse, as he suggested Via Sistina had more to give on the racetrack.

“When the horses are racing well, particularly mares, they can earn more money on the track,” Cox said.

“Ultimately, there is more money in the breeding barns, but they are limited by the number of foals they have each year.”

Yulong outlayed $5.5 million for Via Sistina at last year’s December Tattersalls Mares Sales, but, having now won four Group 1s in Australia, she has pocketed more than $6.7 million in prizemoney with more to come.

After a big week, an annihilating win yesterday and a recovery session at the beach this morning, Via Sistina is enjoying a well earned afternoon in the paddock. She has certainly pulled up bright as a button! We are so proud of this mare and the team around her; vets, farriers,… pic.twitter.com/7261rSmJaw

— Chris Waller Racing (@cwallerracing) October 27, 2024

“She looks cheap now,” Cox said. “Everything looks cheap when they are winning races like that.

“She’s had four Group 1s and a second … (since coming to Australia), and every race she has (competed in) since she came here has been a Group 1.

“They don’t give Group 1s away, and for her to keep doing it, that is remarkable.

“You don’t ever expect to win a race the stature of the race like a Cox Plate in that fashion.

“I’m so happy for the boss (Mr Zhang) and his family, who put a lot into the game.”

READ: Comment: A Cox Plate for top gun behind the scenes

Cox was back at the Yulong Farm on Tuesday morning when he received a call about Via Sistina’s trackwork mishap at the Breakfast With The Best.

But he said the collective work of the Chris Waller team had played a huge part in getting the mare back into the right groove.

“I knew we had days (to get her right) … the only time we had to worry about was Saturday morning, and fortunately it played out in our favour,” Cox said.

“But the horses at this level are pretty tough by definition. They are going to cop setbacks, not that this was a setback, but it didn’t go to plan.”