Racing: 10 special Cox Plate moments

Photo / Martin Sykes

1 You wouldn't be a Kiwi if you didn't rate the Bonecrusher/Waverley Star dogfight of 1986 as your No 1 Cox Plate moment. Just as famous these days are the late Bill Collins' words "... and Bonecrusher races into equine immortality ..."

2 It's an irony that the incomparable Bill Collins will be best remembered, not for his thousands of remarkably accurate calls, but for saying on the home turn in 1982 "... Kingston Town can't win ..." To prove even the greatest of racehorses can make fools of humans, Kingston Town picked himself up in a matter of strides and raced into the record books that day as the only horse to have won three Cox Plates. Bill saw the humorous side though. Not long before his death from cancer he said: "I'm getting buried at sea so they can't put those words on my headstone."

3 There will never be a noise on a racetrack like the one when Greg Childs cut Sunline six lengths clear of the opposition at the 450m in 2000 to win consecutive Cox Plates. World War III could have started and no one at Moonee Valley would have noticed. It was a priceless moment in the career of a priceless racehorse.

4 So You Think, winning the 2009 Cox Plate as a 3-year-old at only his fourth time of stepping on to a racetrack on raceday. That's almost impossible.

5 You have to mention former New Zealand racing journalist Ian McEwen who as CEO of Moonee Valley took the Cox Plate from just a Melbourne Cup lead-up race to one of the world's true icon events. McEwen's vision has never been matched.

6 Kingston Town's greatness is measured not only in his three Cox Plate victories, but perhaps even more by the fact he resented racing the left-handed way around in Melbourne and still won the great race three years straight. For the record, Malcolm Johnston, Ron Quinton and Peter Cook were the consecutive jockeys. He was also perhaps the greatest tragedy beaten ever in a Melbourne Cup.

7 Colin Jillings' superb job to train The Phantom Chance up to win in 1993. And rider Bob Vance's "nice try" in the stewards room, when charged with waving his whip in a victory salute over the finish line. "No," said Vance, up to his usual tricks. "No, sir, see I get cramp in my right arm and after using the whip the cramp struck and over the line I straightened my arm to get the circulation going."

"Mr Vance," said the chairman of stewards, "we hope you don't get cramp getting the $500 fine out of your pocket."

8 It's perhaps no surprise that Phar Lap was the shortest-priced favourite to win the Cox Plate in 1931. He started at 1-14 ($1.07). He was a generous 1-7 ($1.14) when he won in 1929. Makybe Diva was at $2 when she won in 2005, Northerly paid $4 in 2002 and Sunline $2.35 in 2000.

9 New Zealand champion apprentice Brent Thomson was looking to break into the Australian scene after winning the 1975 Cox Plate on New Zealander Fury's Order.

It did his career no harm when he won the race in 1977 on Family Of Man, 1978 on So Called and 1979 on Dulcify.

A week later Dulcify was dead, having shattered his pelvis in the Mackinnon Stakes. Thomson retired saying he was easily the best horse he ever rode.

10 So You Think, winning his second Cox Plate at dinner time tonight.

Only bad luck can beat him. Two Cox Plates in 10 raceday appearances.

Staggering.