Via Sistina has won the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in a dominating performance, completing an incredible comeback after a mid-week trackwork accident nearly put her out of the race.
Jockey James McDonald rode Via Sistina from the middle of the pack, making his move towards the corner to run down Japanese horse Prognosis before racing away to clinch the Australasian weight-for-age championship.
The Chris Waller-trained Via Sistina won by eight lengths, from Prognosis and Broadsiding.
The victory gave McDonald his third straight win in the big race — following rides on Romantic Warrior and Anamoe in the last two years — and also marked the Australian jockey’s 100th Group 1 triumph.
The horse was nearly out of the race after tripping up during trackwork at Moonee Valley on Tuesday, when McDonald hit the ground hard, leaving the horse to run two or three circuits of the track riderless.
But after being checked out by vets, Via Sistina was cleared to race, and went on to clinch one of the great Cox Plate wins.Â
