Australia: Romantic Warrior gets nose down to win Cox Plate

Never leading until the very last stride of the race,post-time favorite Romantic Warrior made a well-timed, winning charge in theshort homestretch at Moonee Valley on Saturday to win by a nose in the Group 1,US$3.15 million Cox Plate, the second of the three major races in the MelbourneSpring Carnival.

Jockey James McDonald, who won Australia’s topweight-for-age race for the second consecutive year, rode 5-year-old gelding RomanticWarrior (2-1) three-wide into a battle at the top of the 167-yard stretch with two-wideleader Alligator Blood (5-1) and ground-saving closer Mr Brightside (7-1).

Mr Brightside, a 6-year-old gelding whose runner-up finishtwo weeks ago in Sydney kept him from a third straight Group 1 win in the lasttwo months, found the lead under Craig Williams with 70 yards to go. He lookedlike a winner until Romantic Warrior collared him at the finish of the turfrace that covered 2,040 meters, 31 yards longer than 1 1/4 miles.

The win photo was posted seconds later and showed Romantic Warriorwinning by the length of a nostril. Alligator Blood, a 7-year-old gelding whowon two previous Group 1 races in the past five weeks, finished a short neckback in third with jockey Tim Clark. Romantic Warrior was the seventh favoritein the last nine years to win the race.

Romantic Warrior’s winning time in the field of 12 was2:03.16 without a run-up over a left-handed course rated good. It was thefastest running of the Cox Plate since 2017, when Winx won her third of four ina row.

Owned by PeterLau Pak Fai and trained by Danny Shum, Romantic Warrior was sired inIreland by Acclamation. He began his career with 14 races at his home base inHong Kong. He won the 2022 and 2023 QEII Cup (G1) on either side of a triumphin 2022 Hong Kong Cup (G1). His first race away from home resulted in afourth-place finish three weeks ago in the Turnbull Stakes (G1) at Flemington.

McDonald, whowon last year with Anamoe, was the first jockey to repeat in the Cox Platesince Hugh Bowman’s run with Winx from 2015 to 2018.

Last week Without A Fight won the first major race of theSpring Carnival, the 1 1/2-mile Caulfield Cup (G1). Ireland-based, 5-year-oldgelding Vauban has been the 3-1 futures favorite to win Nov. 7 in the US$5million Melbourne Cup (G1), the signature, two-mile race at Flemington.