Just thought I'd provide a little info on the Valley track for those who might take a look at, or take a small flyer on the Cox Plate on Saturday. It's one hell of a race track. The last thing that can be said about the course, is that it's a wide open place to race. For those brought up on UK racing where quite often a track is an expansive chunk of land, Mooney Valley can be a bit of a shock to those who first lay eyes on the place. The circumference is a mere 1805m and it possesses a straight of just 173m. This means that the starting gates of G1 $3,000,000 race are placed in front of the grandstand in the home straight. This has the effect of putting the cat among the pigeons, the moment they're let free. There is only a run of about 150m before they swing out of the straight.
Those drawn wide will have to be stoked up early, dragged back, or run the risk of being punted wide early on. The track is essentially a box shape. Once out the straight, they only have another 400m before they hit the corner that takes them down the back straight. The back straight is only about 300m. Half way down this part of the course is the 1000m pole, a point at where those back in the field will start to feel the heat. As they begin to move forward, others in front will be flushed out. The thousand is where the Cox Plate really gets underway.
They'll then swing down the side which will deliver them to the run for home. That side run is just under 400m. As they pelt down that part of the course, all hell will have broken loose. The leader group will probably have sorted themselves out by the time they reach the final bend. Probably before they reach that point, they'll be three and four deep, and all flat to the boards. One or two will probably turn for home looking to steal the race, if those chasing are any more than a couple of lengths away, they'll be in big trouble. A practiced eye will see that at about the 600, the race will race come down to no more than maybe four chance.
Those reading the above could be forgiven for believing that the 2040m W.S. Cox Plate is a race that more than likely falls into the hands of a fast miler, but nothing could be further from the truth. Most winners turn out to have stamina on their side. A good number of winners do well over a mile and a half or longer. The nature of the way the race will be run, means that a long sustained run home will sort the wheat from the chaff. If I can get off my backside, I might be able to post a rough guide to the race.
Those drawn wide will have to be stoked up early, dragged back, or run the risk of being punted wide early on. The track is essentially a box shape. Once out the straight, they only have another 400m before they hit the corner that takes them down the back straight. The back straight is only about 300m. Half way down this part of the course is the 1000m pole, a point at where those back in the field will start to feel the heat. As they begin to move forward, others in front will be flushed out. The thousand is where the Cox Plate really gets underway.
They'll then swing down the side which will deliver them to the run for home. That side run is just under 400m. As they pelt down that part of the course, all hell will have broken loose. The leader group will probably have sorted themselves out by the time they reach the final bend. Probably before they reach that point, they'll be three and four deep, and all flat to the boards. One or two will probably turn for home looking to steal the race, if those chasing are any more than a couple of lengths away, they'll be in big trouble. A practiced eye will see that at about the 600, the race will race come down to no more than maybe four chance.
Those reading the above could be forgiven for believing that the 2040m W.S. Cox Plate is a race that more than likely falls into the hands of a fast miler, but nothing could be further from the truth. Most winners turn out to have stamina on their side. A good number of winners do well over a mile and a half or longer. The nature of the way the race will be run, means that a long sustained run home will sort the wheat from the chaff. If I can get off my backside, I might be able to post a rough guide to the race.
