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Adelaide conquers the final frontier for international raiders in Australian racing

26th Oct 2014

Herald Sun - Nathan Exelby - Saturday, 25 October 2014

Nothing is sacred in Australian racing anymore. Not even the colonial name of the winner could disguise how much things have changed over the past two decades.

We have had 21 years coming to grips with northern hemisphere stayers winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. It’s pretty much expected these days.

But the Cox Plate had been off limits.

Though not in the same volume of numbers, northern raiders had tried and failed to win Australia’s greatest weight-for-age race.

It was assumed Moonee Valley was the wrong track and the Europeans lacked the speed needed to win a Cox Plate.

Until yesterday.

The theories were blown out of the water when Adelaide, from the most powerful racing and breeding stable in the world, made a sustained run around the entire field to win yesterday’s $3 million Cox Plate, stopping the clock just a tick outside the course record.

It was a triumph for absent trainer Aidan O’Brien, ridiculed on his previous foray to Australian racing after his trio of Melbourne Cup runners folded on the back of the suicidal tempo they set.

It also showcased the silky skills of world-renowned jockey Ryan Moore, who had been unsuccessful in the past two Melbourne Cups.

There were excuses for other runners, but the bottom line is that the import covered more ground than any other runner, made the longest run in the race and was still in front on the line.

The good news is that we should be able to enjoy Adelaide’s career unfold in front of us over the next six months at least, with the stallion to be transferred to Chris Waller in an attempt to win next year’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes, provided yesterday’s win doesn’t force a rethink.

O’Brien, the head trainer for John Magnier’s global Coolmore operation, has won most of the world’s biggest races and Australia was the final frontier.

“This is a race Coolmore has wanted to win for a long time,” Coolmore racing manager James Bester said.

“It’s the Cox Plate. It’s the weight-for-age championship of Australasia. It’s right up there with any Breeders’ Cup.

“This is the southern hemisphere’s best race.

“Audacious is a kind word. People were saying we were crazy, but it happened. This is a very special horse and this win is right up there with the most important wins Coolmore has ever had.”

Adelaide was aimed at the Cox Plate after being part sold to Australian interests, including John Ingham, whose family won the 1995 Cox Plate with Octagonal.

“Tom (Magnier) and I have been talking about bringing a horse to Australia and with Adelaide we were looking at the Melbourne Cup,” Ingham said.

“They thought he was a horse that would suit Australian racing because he could travel, he liked firm ground, has a nice action and he is very versatile.

“But when he won the Group 1 in Chicago (Secretariat Stakes) we changed and set our sights for the Cox Plate and here we are today at the pinnacle of racing.’’

Fawkner, an Australian-bred, trained and owned stayer, was brave in finishing second and is clearly our best chance of repelling another foreign domination of next week’s Melbourne Cup.

His defeat though continued a frustrating run of near misses for owner Lloyd Williams in the race, with Mahogany and Zipping also finishing second.