Ladbrokes Tip: Four-year-olds have a gun recent record winning the Cox Plate at weight-for-age

Australasia’s weight-for-age championship the Ladbrokes Cox Plate is known as “the race where legends are made” and each year attracts the best WFA horses from both Australia and overseas. Run at the notoriously tight Moonee Valley circuit in Melbourne each spring, the 2040m classic is now worth $5 million in prize money and has been run since 1922 when Tangalooma won.

Named in honour of W.S. Cox who founded the Melbourne Racing Club, the Cox Plate has been won by many turf champions over the years including racing legend Phar Lap (1930-31), New Zealand hero Rising Fast (1954) who also won that year’s Melbourne and Caulfield Cups, and triple Melbourne Cup winning mare Makybe Diva (2005).

The brilliant mare Winx was the most recent winner of the Cox Plate in October of 2018 after successfully defending her three titles, overtaking Kingston Town (1980-82) as the only four-time Cox Plate champion in history.

The latest edition of the Ladbrokes Cox Plate ran on Saturday October 26, 2019 and for the first time in five years did not feature the now-retired four-time champion Winx (2015-18). Instead it was the heavily-backed Japanese mare Lys Gracieux who stole the show. 

2019 Cox Plate Results

The official 2019 Cox Plate Results & Finishing Order will be available in full below once the spring feature takes place on Saturday October 26, 2019.

• 1st: #9 Lys Gracieux
• 2nd: #14 Castelvecchio
• 3rd: #7 Te Akau Shark

The Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 results saw the Japanese-trained mare Lys Gracieux salute for the punters to secure a $2m bonus from Ladbrokes with her thrilling win over three-year-old Castelvecchio (2nd) and the New Zealander Te Akau Shark (3rd).

Ladbrokes Cox Plate Race Info

• Date: Saturday October 26, 2019
• Track: Moonee Valley Racecourse
• Distance: 2040m
• Conditions: Weight-for-age
• Status: Group 1
• Prize Money: $5 million
• First Run: 1922

Ladbrokes Cox Plate Betting

Early Cox Plate betting opens during the winter months before the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival even kicks off and features a list of all-in prices on possible runners. While there is good value on offer in these futures markets many punters prefer to wait until a few days out when the confirmed field is released.

Upsets are not uncommon in the Cox Plate and since 2000 when Sunline (11/8F) saluted for the first of her two victories only six other favourites have won the race including Winx (2015-18) and most recently the Japanese raider Lys Gracieux (2019).

Winx was the first three time defending Cox Plate winner to jump favourite in her forth attempt, which she also won for the punters making the Cox Plate history books.

2019 Cox Plate Odds

The latest Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 Betting Odds will be updated below as the lead-up to Australasia’s weight-for-age championship heats up this season.

Ladbrokes Cox Plate Tips

Cox Plate tips flood in during October every year and usually the pro punters and tipsters put three and four-year-olds on top of their selections as this age group won every Cox Plate from 2009 – 2015, the weight-for-age conditions suiting the younger horses.

Tipping a Cox Plate winner also involves looking at the lead-up form with gallopers coming off a top three run the best performed in this spring classic.

A key lead-up races into the Cox Plate is the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington earlier in the month with Winx (2017 and 2018) completing the Turnbull Stakes – Cox Plate double twice in recent history.

2019 Cox Plate Tips

Our exclusive Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 betting tips will be detailed in full below the week of the race so stay tuned to see the horses to back and sack in your exotic Cox Plate selections this season.

Cox Plate Field

The Cox Plate field is released on the Tuesday before the race runs on a Saturday in late October each year as part of the two meeting Cox Plate Carnival that kicks off on the Friday night with Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes Night. The race has a capacity of 14 starters plus four emergencies and is open to horses aged three years and older. Many horses come into the race via earlier spring features including the Caulfield Stakes and Turnbull Stakes. Cox Plate nominations, which typically feature over 200 early entries, are taken in August before a number of declaration stages whittle down the line-up to the confirmed final acceptors.

Typical lead-up races into the Cox Plate field including the Group 1 Caulfield Ladbrokes Stakes, a double recently achieved by Winx (2016) and Ocean Park (2012).

2019 Cox Plate Acceptance Dates

• 2019 Cox Plate Nominations: Closed on August 6, 2019 and drew 187 entries
• 2019 Cox Plate First Acceptances: Closed on September 10, 2019 leaving 102 entries
• 2019 Cox Plate Second Acceptances: Closed on September 24, 2019 with 68 chances remaining 
• 2019 Cox Plate Third Acceptances: Closed on October 8, 2019 leaving 35 WFA horses
• 2019 Cox Plate Final Acceptances: Closed on October 22, 2019 with a a capacity field of 14 plus four emergencies 

Champion mare Winx won the 2015 Cox Plate in record-breaking time and saluted for the punters again in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos

2019 Cox Plate Field

The 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate Field of weight-for-age contenders to take each other on in one of the best races on the Australian Racing calendar will be announced and published below the week of the race.

The 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate Field & Barriers are confirmed with the race favourite, Japan’s Lys Gracieux drawing out in gate 15. Japan won the Caulfield Cup from a wide barrier last weekend and this quality mare is tipped to do the same and clean-up the $2 million bonus.

Trainer Chris Waller will chase his fifth win on the trot with a mare saddling-up $18 outside Verry Ellegant, while one-time favourite Mystic Journey has a nice gate six draw looking to return to winning form.

2019 Cox Plate Third Acceptances

Third acceptances for the Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 have left just 35 chances for the Australasian weight-for-age championship.

Leading the updated Ladbrokes Cox Plate odds following the third round of declarations are the Japanese raider Lys Graciux and the Godolphin-raced Avilius who has his final lead-up in the Group 1 Ladbrokes Stakes (2000m) on Caulfield Guineas Day.

2019 Cox Plate Second Acceptances

Second acceptances for the 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate left 68 weight-for-age hopefuls for the $5 million classic.

George Main Stakes winner Avilius leads updated betting on the Cox Plate along with Mystic Journey and Japan’s Lys Gracieux who is one of 10 international raiders still in the mix.

2019 Cox Plate First Acceptances

First acceptances for the Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 revealed 102 hopefuls for the weight-for-age championship.

Early favourite Mystic Journey is one of 36 Group 1 winners in the mix, while there are 17 international raiders looking to steal the show.

2019 Cox Plate Nominations

The first hint at the likely Ladbrokes Cox Plate Horses for 2019 are revealed when Racing Victoria take 2019 Cox Plate Nominations in early August, the early entries often attracting in excess of 150 hopefuls.

The 2019 Cox Plate Nominations featured 187 hopefuls. Among the Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 nominations are 27 international entries including 11 for 2014 winning trainer (Adelaide) from Ireland Aidan O’Brien.

Trainer Chris Waller has won the past four editions of the Cox Plate with the now-retired mare Winx and is back in 2019 with 23 hopefuls including his recent acquisition from WA, Arcadia Queen, who is a confirmed runner in the $14 million The Everest.

Cox Plate Form Guide

The Cox Plate form guide is a key reference for any smart punter wanting to place the winning bet on the race and features all the information you need to determine the chances of the horses in the field. The best form guides feature basic information like saddlecloth numbers, barriers and jockeys as well as more detailed statistics like lead-up form, win / place percentages and records at the track / distance.

The Caulfield Stakes – now known as the Ladbrokes Stakes – is one of the best lead-up races into the Cox Plate with the double most recently achieved by Winx (2016). The Caulfield Guineas is also a key lead-up race producing the likes of Shamus Award (2013) and So You Think (2009) in recent years, while the Turnbull Stakes has also produced two Cox Plate winners in the past decade with El Segundo (2007) and Makybe Diva (2005).

In 2017 and 2018 the champion mare continued to frank the Turnbull Stakes form winning that Group 1 race before her last two Cox Plate triumphs.

Cox Plate Form Facts

• Winx (2016, 2017, 2018) became the first Cox Plate winner older than four to salute since 2008 taking out the race as a 5YO in 2016, 6YO in 2017 and 7YO in 2018; Winx also won the 2015 Cox Plate as a 4YO
• No horse has finished worse than third in the lead-up to a Cox Plate win since So You Think (Caulfield Guineas 5th in 2009)
• In the past decade three horses have won multiple editions of the Cox Plate with So You Think (2009-10) and Winx (2015-18)
• Three Cox Plate champions from 2011 – 2019 saluted from a double-digit barrier most recently Lys Gracieux (11 of 14 in 2019)

2019 Cox Plate Form Guide

A link to our comprehensive Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2019 Form Guide will be provided for punters below the week of the race.

Ladbrokes Cox Plate Results

The Cox Plate results are known after the classic jumps as Moonee Valley Race 9 at the late October meeting each spring. As well as listing the complete Cox Plate finishing order the results show the trainer and jockey of each horse as well as the margin between each place, the weight they carried and their starting price in the betting markets.

Cox Plate Winners