The Cox Plate has had one of the great wins as Via Sistina pulled off a stunning victory in at Mooney Valley.
But the result is just part of the story after the seven-year-old mare threw jockey James McDonald off during trackwork on Tuesday and there were fears she wouldn’t race in the event at all.
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While McDonald wasn’t hurt in the incident, the investment manager of owner Yulong Investments said the Chris Waller-trained Via Sistina was unlikely to run in the 102-year-old event.
On Friday, it was revealed that the mare would race in the event — but very few expected that she would romp to a record-equalling victory, dominating the field to run away by eight-lengths to steal the $5 million event.
The result is also McDonald’s 100th Group 1 victory, only the fifth jockey to achieve the feat and at 32, easily the youngest.
Via Sistina was so dominant, McDonald crossed the line standing in the stirrups, well ahead of Prognosis in second and Broadsiding in third.
Emotional trainer after Via Sistina win | 01:24
Veteran Channel 7 commentator Bruce McAvaney was blown away by the performance.
“Put it at the top of the list,” McAvaney said. “We have seen some extraordinary things here in Cox Plates.
“J-Mac’s 100th Group 1 win. He wins the Cox Plate for the third consecutive year. It is the stuff of legends.
“Chris Waller is a genius and this mare is a champion.
“We have seen some amazing performances in the Cox Plate. The stuff that we say we won’t see it again. You know what? We’ve seen one as good as we’ve ever seen before.”
Fellow commentator Jason Richardson said the performance was “Winx-like”, with Via Sistina smashing Winx’s 2017 track record by nearly two seconds.
“Chris Waller, can you imagine how he was feeling on Tuesday when Via Sistina dropped James McDonald then went out of control spinning around Moonee Valley?” Richardson said.
An emotional Waller couldn’t keep his emotions in check, unable to believe not only that Via Sistina won, but by how much.
“The truth is when she got up and James got up, it rest of it didn’t care,” Waller said.
“The horse and James equally are so important. The Cox Plate is on every year. If she didn’t make it, who cares, she’s alive and James is alive.”
McDonald was also in disbelief, saying he wasn’t even sure Via Sistina would make it to the starting gates.
“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.”
McDonald, who won the last two Cox Plates on Anamoe and Romantic Warrior respectively said he didn’t have it all his own way on Via Sistina.
“She’s not easy,” McDonald said.
“Things needed to go our way and probably the momentum of this 100’s (Group 1 wins for McDonald) been quite heavy especially each week everyone’s been gunning for me and I haven’t been able to get the job done.
“Mate, to do it in a Cox Plate, I couldn’t even… I couldn’t even imagine it. It’s pretty surreal, aye?”
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