Cox Plate 2018 News: $45k wagered on Benbatl to beat Winx
EUROPEAN raider Benbatl has been the best backed horse to beat Winx in Saturday’s Group 1 Cox Plate after one punter unloaded $45,000 on the Saeed bin Suroor-trained galloper.
Online bookmaker Sportsbet took the hefty bet on the overseas raider and subsequently moved his price from $10 into $8.50.
Despite the sizeable wager, Winx ($1.25) remains the red-hot favourite across all online bookmakers.
Speaking after the barrier draw for the Cox Plate, Saeed bin Suroor said the race was always on the radar for team Godolphin following his win in the Group 1 Dubai Turf.
“After Benbatl won in Dubai in March, and he won it really well, that gave me confidence to send him here, but really the plan for him was to send him from January,” bin Suroor said.
Other horses in the market last year’s runner up to Winx, the Darren Weir-trained Humidor ($17) and Benbatl’s Godolphin teammate Avilius ($16), which is using the Cox Plate as a tune-up run for the Melbourne Cup in just over a week’s time.