Australia: Via Sistina runs away to 8-length triumph in Cox Plate

Via Sistina made her fifth Group 1 triumph her biggest yet. She closed from seventh place on the backstretch to take the lead inside the last quarter-mile on the way to an eight-length runaway against males Saturday in the 104th Cox Plate in suburban Melbourne, Australia.

James McDonald, who rode the winner for the third year in a row, triumphantly stood in the irons through the last 50 yards of the US$3.3 million turf race. Covering 2,000 meters, 13 yards less than 1 1/4 miles, the Cox Plate is widely regarded as the most prestigious weight-for-age race in the southern hemisphere.

A 6-year-old Fastnet Rock mare bred in Ireland who is considered to be 7 south of the Equator, Via Sistina (5-1) started her winning move with five furlongs left. She circled both front-running Pride of Jenni (4-1) and stalking favorite Prognosis (9-5) on the last of the four 90-degree left turns at Moonee Valley. By the time she led the field of nine into the 167-yard homestretch, Via Sistina all but had the race won, and she continued to stretch her advantage through the finish line.

Prognosis ran on to finish a distant second. Broadsiding (5-1) rallied from last to come in third, two more lengths up the track. Mr Brightside (7-2) was another neck back in fourth.

The winning time was 2:01.07 without a run-up on the course that was rated good.

Via Sistina carried 125 pounds and paid $12.00, $5.40 and $2.80 in North America mutuels. Prognosis, a 6-year-old horse with a 130-pound impost, returned $3.00 and $2.40. Broadsiding, a 3-year-old colt who was assigned 109 pounds, paid $3.60.

Winning trainer Chris Waller, 51, won the Cox Plate for the fifth time. The first four came from 2015 to 2018 with Winx, another mare who was a four-time Australia horse of the year. Saturday’s victory was the 100th in a Group 1 race for McDonald, 32, who like Waller is a native of New Zealand.

Owned by Yu Long Investments, Via Sistina won last out Oct. 5 in the 1 1/4-mile Turnbull (G1) at nearby Flemington. Her 2024-25 season began in August with a nose win in the seven-furlong Winx (G1) at Randwick. On a heavy course at Flemington, she finished fifth Sept. 15 as the favorite in the one-mile Makybe Diva (G1).

Before the current season, Via Sistina had Group 1 wins in the 2023 Pretty Polly in Ireland and the March running of the Ranvet at Rosehill in Australia. She also finished second behind King of Steel last October in the Champion Stakes (G1) at Ascot, England.