Let racehorses be racehorses
Cosmic Crusader is a prime example of the benefits of letting racehorses be racehorses.
He’s been up since winning the Bletchingly Stakes over 1200m on July 25, has had seven runs this campaign and backed up out of a gruelling Caulfield Cup into the Cox Plate just seven days later. And he produced arguably the performance of his career.
In an era where horses are often sparingly raced, with trials and jump-outs used between runs to keep them up to the mark, Cosmic Crusader is a refreshing reminder that there’s still plenty to be said for racing horses into peak fitness.
Now, I get that approach doesn’t suit every horse. They aren’t all built to withstand the workload Cosmic Crusader can, and managing individual horses is obviously important. But, for mine, there’s a strong argument that we’ve become too protective of our racehorses and, dare I say it, perhaps a little too protective of winning strike rates.
As for the Cox Plate itself, it was every bit the gruelling test we anticipated.
According to Daily Sectionals, Land Legend was travelling approximately 10 lengths above standard through the first 1200m, while the leader of the Tesio Stakes was around 12 lengths below standard. That means Land Legend would have led the Tesio by a lazy 22 lengths at the 800m mark. Cosmic Crusader himself would have been more than 10 lengths clear of the Tesio field at the same point.
And the overall times tell a similar story. The Cox Plate was run 2.4 seconds and 3.6 seconds quicker than the other two 2040m races on the program, equivalent to roughly 14 and 21 lengths respectively.
This wasn’t some sit-and-sprint affair where the winner was flattered by circumstances. It was a searching, high-pressure contest that demanded enormous fitness, toughness and sustained speed.
And who was left standing? A horse having his seventh run of the preparation, backing up seven days after contesting a Caulfield Cup.
Maybe there’s a lesson in that.
Caulfield Cup form stands up, but will it hold?
I tweeted during the week that I didn’t think the Melbourne Cup winner would come out of the Caulfield Cup. A statement I stand by!
But there’s no denying the Caulfield Cup form was well and truly to the fore on Cox Plate Day.
Cosmic Crusader weakened into fourth over 2400m at Caulfield just seven days earlier, but turned that form around with a blistering Cox Plate victory. The key, I suspect, was dropping back to 2000m, where his turn of foot could be used to maximum effect.
Saint George also ran a cracker in the Cox Plate, finishing fifth on the quick back-up and dropping back in trip. Of those who contested the Caulfield Cup, he’s probably the one I could see winning a Melbourne Cup.
The form also stood up in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, where Kings Valley produced a terrific effort to finish second.
So, there’s clearly plenty of substance to the Caulfield Cup form, even if the race itself didn’t necessarily produce the strongest staying test.
That said, I’m not shifting my Melbourne Cup position just yet. I suspect the internationals, along with Shockletz, would be pretty comfortable taking on the Caulfield Cup form over 3200m on the first Tuesday in November.
World Pool punters on the money, but luck deserts them
World Pool punters have shown a penchant for backing runners ridden by the world’s leading jockeys, so there’s little doubt James McDonald’s presence aboard Pinhole played at least some role in the gelding being crunched into $3.70 for the Moonee Valley Gold Cup, despite being available at $6 with TAB fixed odds.
And, as it turned out, the money was spot on.
The only problem was that in a farcically run 2500m contest, Pinhole remained pocketed throughout, going to the line hard held with plenty left to offer.
JUJA KIBO STORMS OVER THE TOP 💥
Ciaron Maher gets the trifecta in the Moonee Valley Gold Cup and has another Melbourne Cup runner as Sam Clipperton gets his first winner at Flemington!
@cmaherracing https://t.co/Auk1AngNqT
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 24, 2026
It was a frustrating case of what might have been for his backers, but even more so for connections, with Star Thoroughbreds left wondering what could have been with a Melbourne Cup ticket on the line.
Even the best err, sometimes
While on J-Mac, he rode a ripper on Aeliana who simply wasn’t good enough on the day, but it was his shining light on an average day.
He was one of several jockeys that completely lost sight of the lure in the Mile, ultimately won by Surfin’ Bird.
To they eye, the spread out field would suggest they were hiking along at a good tempo. But the numbers show the contrary: Astral Flame went nearly 7L below standard to the 800m mark (courtesy of Vince Accardi) – which is a very moderate tempo for this class of horses. Surfin’ Bird was cruising 8.5L below standard.
Meanwhile, Buckaroo was spotting the leader nearly seven lengths at the same point, his chances of winning mathematically impossible.
SURFIN’ BIRD HOLDS OUT BUCKAROO🏄♀️
Another Cox Plate Day second for Buckaroo as Gai and Adrian’s Mare with the Group 2 Kia Ora Stud Mile!
@JChilds47 @GaiWaterhouse1 https://t.co/nqGhtz6vWy
— 7HorseRacing 🐎 (@7horseracing) October 24, 2026
To his credit, Buckaroo whipped home in 22.22 secs – the quickest of any horse on the day – which is incredible at the end of a mile race on a card that features five sprints.
However, his efforts were in vain as he simply had too much work to do, the first half of the race defining the outcome.
Ballarat debacle simply not good enough
Friday’s Ballarat meeting was abandoned after just two races following a horse slipping in the second event.
The vision of jockeys inspecting the track, kicking up divots the size of footballs, was extraordinary. The moment you saw that, you sensed the meeting was in serious trouble.
Benny Allen’s got a decent slipper on him… https://t.co/wMowo7jaB8
— Matt Welsh (@Matt__Welsh_) October 23, 2026
And this was despite no rain in the lead-up to the meeting.
Racing Victoria has since confirmed that, unlike the issues at Caulfield a few weeks earlier, these were indeed divots and not turf plugs, as had been suggested on the broadcast.
RV has also conceded the cause of the issue is not immediately obvious, with officials set to inspect the track on Monday as they attempt to get to the bottom of what went wrong.
It again highlights the challenges associated with Racing Victoria’s policy of requiring tracks to be heavily watered during the warmer months. The desire to produce forgiving surfaces is understandable, but that approach can come with negative consequences, particularly when it impacts the stability of the turf.
There’s a balance to be struck between providing tracks with sufficient give and ensuring they are safe and fit for racing.
Whatever the underlying cause of Friday’s issues, the bottom line is simple: it’s just not good enough.
A Derby horse to follow
And a blackbooker to finish with.
True Rebel took out the Vase, but Hierarchy was the flashing light from a Victoria Derby perspective.
He had little more than a trial, dropping out the back early before really arming up over the final couple of furlongs. It was exactly the sort of run you want to see from a horse heading towards 2500m, and he looks right on track for the Derby in a week’s time.
