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Aug 18, 2023

Cox Plate 2022 final field, barrier draw, odds, winners and losers

Jamie Kah's wish became reality with Cox Plate second favourite Zaaki drawn the

Jamie Kah's wish became reality with Cox Plate second favourite Zaaki drawn the rail in the $5m weight-for-age championship on Saturday at The Valley.

In a perfect world, Zaaki, one of three runners in the Cox Plate for trainer Annabel Neasham, along with Mo'unga and Laws Of Indices, will not need to go around a horse to win the spring major.

The multiple Group 1 winner's only vulnerability to date has been a habit to lay in when racing outside horses in the run to the winning post.

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Star jockey Kah, who grew up dreaming about success in the Cox Plate, gave Zaaki his final spin around The Valley on Tuesday.

"Lowest draw the best … if we could get a low barrier I think he's going to be in with a super chance Saturday," Kah said before the draw.

"It's worse when he's outside the leader and leader kicks on a strong tempo because he just wants to duck in, you've got to be prepared and ready to swap the whip on him pretty much every start."

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Godolphin superstar and Cox Plate favourite Anamoe has drawn perfectly in barrier four.

I'm Thunderstruck and Alligator Blood faired poorly, with 10 and 12 respectively.

X-factor import El Bodegon, trained by Chris Waller, will jump from barrier eight.

Zaaki, who was gut-wrenchingly taken out of the Cox Plate last year on race day with a spike in temperature, was among the first horses on the track in Tuesday's Breakfast with the Best session.

Jamie Kah riding Zaaki at Tuesday morning's Breakfast With The Best at The Valley. Picture: Pat Scala-Racing Photos via Getty Images

"I did really like his attitude today, he was very relaxed, those few runs have knocked the edge off him, if he can produce what he did at Caulfield I think he's going to be right in it," Kah said.

"He loved it (morning) didn't look around at anything, got around quite well, he swapped legs, I think he's going to love The Valley, his style of racing.

"He's feeling great, Annabel couldn't have him in much better shape today, he's feeling a million bucks.

"He looks good, feels good, it's up to me now."

Neasham remarkably will become the 10th trainer in 100 years to saddle up three runners in the Cox Plate.

Neasham echoed Kah on the importance of an inside barrier.

Annabel Neasham will have three runners in the Cox Plate, including Law Of Indices (left) and Mo'unga. Picture: Pat Scala-Racing Photos via Getty Images

"Zaaki has been plagued by bad barriers most of the way through, it hasn't really affected him until really this preparation, he's usually been the only horse up there contesting the speed," Neasham said.

"The addition of (leader) Alligator Blood has made the races much more interesting but I was really keen to try draw in, he's always looking for the rails."

Laws Of Indices will be "smothered up" from barrier three, while Mo'unga's draw (nine) is "ideal for him".

"He's (Mo'unga) a horse that needs winding up and probably doesn't want an interrupted run."

Anamoe eased slightly with TAB from $2.10 to $2.20 after the draw, while El Bodegon shortened $9 into $8.

Zaaki steady at $4.50 with Gold Trip $26 into $21 after being parachuted into the field.

– additional reporting by Brad Waters and Glenn McFarlane

No – Horse – Trainer – Jockey – Barrier – Weight

1 – ZAAKI – Annabel Neasham – Jamie Kah – 1 – 59kg

2 – I‘M THUNDERSTRUCK – Mick Price & Michael Kent (Jnr) – Mark Zahra – 10 – 59kg

3 – ALLIGATOR BLOOD – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott – Tim Clark – 12 – 59kg

4 – MR BRIGHTSIDE – Ben & JD Hayes Craig Williams – 11 – 59kg

5 – MO‘UNGA – Annabel Neasham Nash Rawiller – 9 – 59kg

6 – GOLD TRIP – Ciaron Maher & David Eustace – TBA – 7 – 59kg

7 – LAWS OF INDICES – Annabel Neasham – John Allen – 3 – 59kg

8 – YOUNG WERTHER – Danny O‘Brien – Damian Lane – 2 – 59kg

9 – MAXIMAL – John O‘Shea – Ben Melham – 5 – 59kg

10 – ANAMOE – James Cummings – James McDonald – 4 – 57.5kg

11 – PROFONDO – Richard Litt – Chad Schofield – 6 – 57.5kg

12 – EL BODEGON – Chris Waller – Damien Oliver – 8 – 56.5kg

The Valley track was rated a Soft 6 at acceptance time. The rail will be in the true position on Saturday.

The Bureau Of Meteorology forecast for Melbourne is:

Tuesday – Mostly sunny. 21.

Wednesday – Sunny. 23.

Thursday – Partly cloudy. 20. Friday – Cloudy (90% chance of 4-10mm of rain). 23.

Saturday – Cloudy (80% chance of 3-8mm of rain). 18.

ZAAKI — Coveted rails alley. He loves hugging the fence so connections choosing barrier 1 makes it clear they want to lead at all costs. Just needs to jump cleanly and he will try and run them ragged under Jamie Kah.

ANAMOE — Barrier 4 gives J-Mac so many options. He will settle not far from the speed and start making his run from the 700m to set up what could be a classic Cox Plate.

I'M THUNDERSTRUCK — Gate 10 means he will most likely have to settle further back than he wanted. Will have plenty of good horses to follow; it's just a matter of how far back he gets. If he tries to push forward he could get posted three-wide which could be disastrous.

MR BRIGHTSIDE — Barrier 11 isn't ideal and it's hard to see where he maps in the run. If Zaaki kicks up and Alligator Blood carves across he'll need plenty of luck to slot in one off the fence as they go out of the straight the first time. But it's Craig Williams so you wouldn't put it past him.

ALLIGATOR BLOOD — Needs Zaaki to miss the kick to cross him down the straight the first time. If he can't cross and does plenty of work early and settles outside Zaaki he'll be feeling it the last 400m.

TAB fixed odds as at 11.20am Tuesday

$2.30 Anamoe

$4 Zaaki

$7 El Bodegon

$13 I'm Thunderstruck

$17 Mr Brightside, Gold Trip

$21 Alligator Blood

$26 Laws Of Indices

$34 Mo'unga, Young Werther

$71 Maximal

$101 Profondo

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