Cox Plate draws star-studded field

October 24, 2023 10:36 am.

Romantic Warrior has drawn barrier seven in the 2023 Cox Plate. (Photo: George Sal/Racing Photos)

The 2023 Cox Plate (2040m) has attracted a field of 12 runners vying for Australasia’s weight-for-age championship at Moonee Valley on Saturday afternoon.

Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior is set to jump from barrier seven as favourite with horse racing betting sites in Saturday’s $5 million feature.

James McDonald will stick on board the market elect, with Romantic Warrior seemingly taking great improvement from his run in the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) when finishing fourth.

Reigning Melbourne Cup (3200m) champion Gold Trip will back up from finishing third in Saturday’s Caulfield Cup (2400m) and jump from barrier eight in the Cox Plate.

Having partnered Without A Fight to victory in the Caulfield Cup, Mark Zahra will hop back on board Gold Trip and look to add a third Group 1 to the horse’s already glittering record.

Northern Hemisphere three-year-old Victoria Road will make his Australian debut on Saturday for trainer Joseph O’Brien, with Blake Shinn taking the ride from barrier six.

Alligator Blood (5) and Mr Brightside (2) have drawn perfectly for their respective racing styles and are back to right the wrongs of last year’s Cox Plate, where the pair both ran below market expectations.

Fresh off her win in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes (1600m), Fangirl is one of two mares in the race and will be partnered by Hong Kong-based hoop Zac Purton.

King Colorado (10) and Militarize (3) come in as the only three-year-olds (Southern Hemisphere) in the race, with in-form jockeys Michael Dee and Zac Lloyd both getting down to 49.5kg for Saturday’s race.

Zaaki, My Oberon, Pinstriped and Duais round out a stacked field for the 2023 Cox Plate, which is race nine on Saturday’s card at Moonee Valley.

Cox Plate 2023 field

No.	Horse	Trainer	Jockey	Barrier	Weight
1	Romantic Warrior	Danny Shum	James McDonald	7	59kg
2	Zaaki	Annabel Neasham	Damian Lane	12	59kg
3	Mr Brightside	Ben, Will & JD Hayes	Craig Williams	2	59kg
4	Alligator Blood	Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott	Tim Clark	5	59kg
5	Gold Trip	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Mark Zahra	8	59kg
6	My Oberon	Annabel Neasham	Jamie Mott	4	59kg
7	Pinstriped	Enver Jusufovic	Ben Allen	11	59kg
8	Fangirl	Chris Waller	Zac Purton	9	57kg
9	Duais	Edward Cummings	Damien Oliver	1	57kg
10	Victoria Road	Aidan O’Brien	Blake Shinn	6	56.5kg
11	Militarize	Chris Waller	Zac Lloyd	3	49.5kg
12	King Colorado	Ciaron Maher & David Eustace	Michael Dee	10	49.5kg