Mid-week fright to a record-breaking win: Via Sistina’s stunning Cox Plate triumph

James McDonald thought he was watching his Cox Plate chances gallop away around the Moonee Valley bend on Tuesday morning after he was unceremoniously dumped on the turf by a spooked Via Sistina.

But it was McDonald’s rivals who watched Via Sistina disappear with the weight-for-age championship on Saturday, as the Chris Waller-trained mare smashed Winx’s race record and handed J-Mac his 100th group 1 victory, winning by eight lengths in a time of 2:01.07.

Via Sistina stunned the jam-packed crowd at the Valley with the dominant win.Credit: Eddie Jim

“It was a Winx-like performance. I can’t believe it,” said McDonald, who has now won three Cox Plates in succession, following wins on Anamoe and Romantic Warrior.

The 32-year-old super hoop, who has hit the ton faster than any other rider in Australia, screamed in celebration as he returned to the mounting yard, and then hugged his partner Katelyn Mallyon. It was a telling embrace. McDonald admitted that the pressure of being stuck on 99 group 1 wins for the past month, and the mid-week mishap of being thrown to the ground when Via Sistina tripped on a bandage, had begun to take a toll.

“I thought our hopes were doomed,” McDonald said of the fall. “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.

“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.

James McDonald aboard Via Sistina had the race won from a long way out.Credit: Racing.com

“These last few weeks have been pretty tough and Katelyn’s been unreal in her support, and she’s saying it will happen, and Mum has been there helping with the kids and that all that takes so much work and effort, and it’s a huge team effort. I’m so lucky, and I’ve got a beautiful family.”

Punters were stunned with how the race unfolded. Pride Of Jenni did not skip away in her customary catch-me-if-you-can style and instead jockey Declan Bates had the field snapping closely at his heels.

The bold front-running cult hero was beaten before the turn, passed first by Japanese invader Prognosis and then given windburn by Via Sistina. In the end, she finished second last.

“She didn’t run to form but it was always going to be a bit of an ask,” trainer Ciaron Maher said of Pride Of Jenni backing up from last Saturday’s Sydney run.

“I thought she got the first third of the race very right and that is always the most concerning part of the race, and the rest of it takes care of itself.

“But Declan [Bates] knows her very well, and I’d say he would have felt very early on that she wasn’t herself. She seems fine now. I’d say we will have a break and work out what we will do from here … she has had another great prep.”

James Cummings said his third-placed three-year-old colt Broadsiding, ridden by Jamie Kah, could not keep up with Via Sistina when she accelerated away, but had acquitted himself well at his 10th start against older, world-class horses.

Ben Hayes said Lindsay Park’s brave stable hero Mr Brightside had rallied over the last 100m of the race to finish fourth and while they would be tempted by running him in the Champions Stakes in a fortnight, the seven-year-old gelding would most likely go for a spell.

‘What Winx did was over a long time and she beat what there was, she ran track records and she won by the biggest margins, but she [Via Sistina] would have pushed Winx – a photo, a photo finish.’

Trainer Chris Waller

Via Sistina, bought from Europe by Yulong Investments for $5 million, has raced into Melbourne Cup favouritism almost as quickly as she finished off Saturday’s $5 million group 1 race.

But Waller said a decision on whether to run the Cox Plate winner, by Fastnet Rock out of a Galileo mare, on the first Tuesday in November was a problem for another day.

He was also reluctant to rate his new stable superstar alongside grand champion Winx.

“They are completely different,” he said. “What Winx did was over a long time and she beat what there was, she ran track records and she won by the biggest margins, but she (Via Sistina) would have pushed Winx – a photo, a photo finish.”

Waller admitted he had panicked when Via Sistina stumbled on Tuesday morning, throwing McDonald off and then running three unscheduled laps of the Valley circuit.

Via Sistina and the drama at track work on Tuesday.Credit: Getty Images

“I’ve got an instinct, as most people would, like a footy coach, or a mother looking after a child, if something goes wrong, you do what you can to fix it,” he said.

His masterstroke was to bring Via Sistina back to the Valley two days later and give her a more relaxing experience at the track.

“We tried everything we could to try and turn it into a well-perceived option that we were looking after the horse, making sure we were doing everything right,” he said.

Such was the dominance of the win, McDonald stood in the irons before the line to emotionally acknowledge the triumph with the jockey receiving a $2000 fine for his celebration.

He now joins five other jockeys in the 100 club – Damien Oliver (129), George Moore (126), Roy Higgins (108), Jim Cassidy (104) and Hugh Bowman (102).

James McDonald salutes at the finish line.Credit: Eddie Jim

Kah’s ride out of Melbourne Cup

Champion jockey Jamie Kah is searching for a Melbourne Cup mount after connections of her intended ride in the big race, Point King, notified stewards the horse would not be in the field when third acceptances are taken on Monday.

It is another blow for Kah after her mount in the Everest, Traffic Warden, was scratched after being fractious at the barriers. But she is certain to be in demand as the Cup draws nearer.

Kah rode Melbourne Cup hope The Map in the Geelong Cup, but connections of that horse confirmed on Friday that Sydney hoop Rachel King would ride The Map.

Kah has only two rides at Moonee Valley on Saturday, but one of her mounts is three-year-old star Broadsiding, who she will ride at 49.5 kilograms in the Cox Plate.

Jamie Kah after riding Point King to victory in the Lexus Archer Stakes.Credit: Getty Images

Point King was fourth favourite for the Cup, and claimed a berth in the famous race on the first Tuesday in November after winning the Lexus Archer Stakes.

Prominent owners Lloyd and Nick Williams decided to withdraw Point King because they were not happy with the horse’s action. Lloyd Williams is a seven-time winner of the Cup, having triumphed in 1981, 1985, 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017 and most recently in 2020.

Meanwhile, the all-conquering Ciaron Maher unearthed another potential Melbourne Cup runner on Friday night when Okita Soushi won the 2500-metre Moonee Valley Gold Cup by half a length from the Lloyd Williams-owned Serpentine.

The Irish import sits 39th in the order of entry for the Melbourne Cup, but could be elevated up the list if he receives a penalty from RV handicapper David Hegan.

“He’s just a classic stayer that wants 12 furlongs [2400m]. Once you get him to that level, and at a level of fitness, he excels,” Maher’s assistant trainer Jack Turnbull said.

“It [the Melbourne Cup] has always been the long-term plan when he came to us off the back of his last campaign in spring. It’s really good and pleasing when things work out in terms of timing.”

Maher is looking to have at least four starters on the first Tuesday in November, including Okita Sushi, Sydney Cup winner Circle Of Fire, Geelong Cup runner-up Interpetation and import Saint George, which is currently 31st in the order of entry.

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