Cox Plate - Last Five Winners, Results & Race Replays

Alex Marsh

Editor

Last updated: Thu. 22 Oct. 2026 05:26

Alex Marsh 2 hours ago

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Relive the last five Cox Plate winners from 2021 to 2025
Via Sistina headlines the recent honour roll with back-to-back victories
Full results, race replays and memorable moments from Australia's weight-for-age championship

James McDonald guides Via Sistina to back-to-back Cox Plate victories, defeating Buckaroo and Treasurethe Moment at Moonee Valley on October 25, 2025. (Getty)

The Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) is widely regarded as Australia's weight-for-age championship, with a history dating back to 1922 and an honour roll featuring some of the greatest thoroughbreds to race anywhere in the world.

2025 Cox Plate
2024 Cox Plate
2023 Cox Plate
2022 Cox Plate
2021 Cox Plate
Cox Plate History - Champions & Memorable Moments

The $6 million classic has produced countless unforgettable moments, with champions such as Phar Lap, Kingston Town, Sunline, Northerly and Winx among its most celebrated winners. More recently, Via Sistina completed consecutive victories in 2025 after Romantic Warrior, Anamoe and State Of Rest had claimed the previous three editions.

The 2026 Cox Plate takes place at Flemington on Saturday, October 24, with the famous race moving away from Moonee Valley for the first time while its traditional home undergoes redevelopment.

Ahead of Saturday's Cox Plate, we look back at the last five editions and relive each running.

2025 Cox Plate

1st - Via Sistina

2nd - Buckaroo

3rd - Treasurethe Moment

2024 Cox Plate

1st - Via Sistina

2nd - Prognosis

3rd - Broadsiding

2023 Cox Plate

1st - Romantic Warrior

2nd - Mr Brightside

3rd - Alligator Blood

2022 Cox Plate

1st - Anamoe

2nd - I'm Thunderstruck

3rd - El Bodegon

2021 Cox Plate

1st - State Of Rest

2nd - Anamoe

3rd - Verry Elleegant

Cox Plate History - Champions & Memorable Moments

The Cox Plate has been the ultimate test of Australia's elite weight-for-age performers for more than a century, regularly bringing together the country's finest middle-distance horses and some of the world's leading international contenders.

First run at Moonee Valley in 1922, when Violoncello claimed the inaugural edition, the race was named in honour of the club's founder, William Samuel Cox. Traditionally contested over 2040m, the Cox Plate has built its reputation around the demanding Moonee Valley circuit, where tactical speed, acceleration and the ability to sustain a finish have often separated champions from their rivals.

The most recent editions have been dominated by Via Sistina, who completed back-to-back victories for Chris Waller and James McDonald in 2025. Having demolished her rivals by eight lengths in a record-breaking performance in 2024, the outstanding mare returned 12 months later to edge out stablemate Buckaroo, with Treasurethe Moment finishing third in another memorable contest.

Hong Kong superstar Romantic Warrior had taken the 2023 edition for Danny Shum, producing a thrilling finish to defeat Mr Brightside and Alligator Blood. The victory continued the race's international appeal, following the success of Irish-trained State Of Rest in 2021, when the Joseph O'Brien-trained colt survived a protest after narrowly defeating Anamoe, with Verry Elleegant taking third.

Anamoe returned to claim the 2022 Cox Plate for James Cummings and James McDonald, defeating I'm Thunderstruck and El Bodegon in a performance that cemented his standing among the country's leading weight-for-age performers. The Godolphin champion subsequently added further Group 1 victories before retiring to stud.

Few races can match the Cox Plate's extraordinary honour roll, headed by Winx, who became the first horse to win four consecutive editions between 2015 and 2018. Kingston Town famously completed a hat-trick from 1980 to 1982, while Phar Lap, Sunline, Northerly and So You Think are among the other champions to have won the race on multiple occasions.

The race has also delivered some of Australian racing's most iconic finishes, none more famous than the 1986 battle between Bonecrusher and Our Waverley Star, which became known as the Race of the Century. Other memorable performances include Might And Power's courageous victory in 1998, Makybe Diva's success in 2005 and Winx's extraordinary eight-length demolition of her rivals in 2016.

Saturday's 2026 edition represents another chapter in Cox Plate history, with the $6 million championship being staged at Flemington for the first time while Moonee Valley undergoes redevelopment. A different circuit presents a fresh challenge for the contenders, but the prize remains unchanged: a place alongside the greatest names in Australian racing.