Cox Plate History - Five Times the Great Race Was Different

Kristen Manning

Editor

Last updated: Thu. 22 Oct. 2026 09:42

Kristen Manning 1 hour ago

Share this article

Certain editions of the W.S. Cox Plate have stood out for breaking tradition, such as the smallest-ever field in 1926 and the only divided race in 1946
Super Impose’s 1992 victory and Fields Of Omagh’s record as the oldest winner in 2006 brought high drama and emotion to the event
The 2020 and 2021 races saw winners crowned with almost no spectators due to COVID-19 restrictions, marking another unique chapter in the race’s history

Craig Williams guides Fields Of Omagh to a thrilling 2006 Cox Plate victory over El Segundo and Pompeii Ruler at Moonee Valley. (Getty)

It's a W.S. Cox Plate with a difference this year, with the historic weight-for-age championship being run away from its traditional home at Moonee Valley for the first time.

1926 - Heroic
1946 - Flight & Leonard
1992 - Super Impose
2006 - Fields Of Omagh
2020 & 2021 - Sir Dragonet & State Of Rest

And so it's timely to look back at a few other occasions when the 2040m Group 1 contest was, for various reasons, a little different...

1926 - Heroic

It took Danehill to surpass the Australian Champion Sire record held for so long by the brilliant galloper Heroic, whose classy progeny saw him claim that title seven consecutive times between 1932 and 1939.

He retired to stud following a stellar career that yielded 21 wins from 51 starts and is one of only two Cox Plate winners to have sired a winner of the same race, his outstanding son Ajax successful in 1938, with Rubiton and Fields Of Omagh the other father-son combination to achieve the feat.

Heroic was an odds-on favourite in the 1926 Cox Plate, already established as one of the country's finest gallopers despite a career interrupted by suspensions involving his owners.

His name was already etched in racing history, and a record crowd gathered to watch him compete at Moonee Valley that day.

But this was a somewhat different Cox Plate, with Heroic facing only three rivals... never before or since has the race attracted such a small field.

Away awkwardly, Heroic settled at the rear in the early stages but soon joined Limerick in the lead, with an exciting battle ensuing.

"An impressive performance," reported one writer, with another admiring Heroic's "brilliant burst of speed."

1946 - Flight & Leonard

The war years presented challenges for horse racing. Was it frivolous to continue during such difficult times, or did the sport provide a much-needed morale boost?

Discussions about racing during World War II centred not only on lifting the public's spirits but also on the sport's fundraising capabilities and its broader contribution to the economy and employment.

Fortunately, Prime Minister John Curtin was a racing fan, though he encouraged restraint, and racing continued... albeit not every Saturday, which led to a backlog of horses needing runs.

That was why the MVRC committee, faced with large acceptances for the 1946 Cox Plate, decided to divide the race.

Making the 1946 Cox Plate, or should I say, the Cox Plates, unique.

The first division was won by Flight, who already had the race on her resume, having gone to the lead at the 1600m in 1945 before holding off challenger Don Pedro by half a head.

Her 1946 victory was a more comfortable affair, with Flight at one stage five lengths clear before holding a 3½-length advantage on the line.

She backed that up with a six-length win in the Mackinnon Stakes a week later, a race remembered as the final start for the mighty Bernborough, who fractured a sesamoid.

The second division of the 1946 Cox Plate was won by outsider Leonard, who had been out of form since finishing third behind Rainbird in the previous year's Melbourne Cup.

1992 - Super Impose

There has arguably never been a more action-packed Group 1 race than the 1992 W.S. Cox Plate, so famously won by one of Australia's most popular gallopers, the mighty Super Impose.

Despite his outstanding record, which already included seven Group 1 wins and a second placing in the previous year's Cox Plate, the Lee Freedman-trained chestnut started at double-figure odds at Moonee Valley following an unorthodox preparation.

His lead-up run had been a victory as an odds-on favourite in the Canberra Cup.

In many other years, a horse of Super Impose's calibre might have started Cox Plate favourite, but this was an extraordinary field, with his rivals including Better Loosen Up, Let's Elope, Prince Salieri, Mannerism, Rough Habit, Burst, Sydeston, Naturalism, Palace Reign, Kinjite and Slight Chance.

Super Impose's stablemate Naturalism was favourite and in great form, but approaching the 600m, Palace Reign stumbled and fell, triggering a chain reaction that brought down Naturalism and Sydeston, with Rough Habit hurdling the fallen horses.

As if that wasn't enough drama, Let's Elope shifted ground in the final stages, with a subsequent protest seeing her demoted from second to fifth.

Fortunately, neither horses nor riders suffered serious injuries. Sydeston subsequently lost form, but Naturalism, Palace Reign and Rough Habit went on to further success in feature races.

"I just thought when Naturalism went I was completely out of the picture," Lee Freedman said on the day.

"But you can never write Super Impose off - he is such a great horse."

A horse who, on that day, was Australia's highest prizemoney earner, with more than $5.6 million to his name.

2006 - Fields Of Omagh

Classy and tough enough to contest five consecutive runnings of the W.S. Cox Plate, Fields Of Omagh won the race for Tony McEvoy in 2003 and again three years later for David Hayes.

Just two days before the 2006 Cox Plate, the decision was made to retire the then nine-year-old, win, lose or draw on the big day.

"He deserves to take his bow at the racecourse and in the race that has been his for the past five years," part-owner Bryan Martin said.

Usually, the horse carrying the No. 1 saddlecloth leads the Cox Plate field onto the track, but there was an early difference in 2006, with Casual Pass's owners, David and Jenny Moodie, foregoing that honour to allow FOO the privilege.

Another change was the addition of blinkers, which Fields Of Omagh had not worn for three years, with David Hayes deciding to use them for the horse's finale in the hope they would "sharpen him up and improve him that little bit."

At the time, breeder and part-owner Martin O'Connor asked the trainer just how much they would improve him.

"An inch!" Hayes replied, somewhat fortuitously, with Fields Of Omagh's eventual winning margin a nose.

Fields Of Omagh joined Tranquil Star as the only other horse to contest five Cox Plates, with both winning the race twice.

Another distinction from that Cox Plate was Fields Of Omagh becoming the oldest winner in the race's history.

And perhaps the most quickly retired... by the following Tuesday, he was at Living Legends!

2020 & 2021 - Sir Dragonet & State Of Rest

Part of a successful run for Northern Hemisphere-bred horses following Japan's Lys Gracieux winning in 2019, these two entire horses were not surprise W.S. Cox Plate winners, both well in the market at $7.50.

But their victories will be remembered for a very different reason, with so few people able to witness them in person as COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions prevented racegoers from attending.

There were, however, a few bystanders (the author and family included!) determined not to miss a piece of Moonee Valley history, with a few dozen keen racing fans lining fences on two sides of the course each year to catch whatever glimpse of the action they could!

While most of those fortunate enough to be on course were oblivious to the spectators peering through the fences, the always-effervescent Craig Williams noticed, calling out, "Thanks for coming!"