Zabeel Holds Cox Plate Record

 
17 Oct 2009

Next weekend's rich Tatts Cox Plate at Moonee Valley in Melbourne will provide super sire
Zabeel with another opportunity to add to his record number of individual winners in Australasia's greatest weight-for-age contest. 
Zabeel

 

No other stallion can match Zabeel's record of four individual Cox Plate winners.  The three-year-old,
Octagonal, started the trend for his sire when winning the 1995 contest in the hands of Shane Dye.  Three years later
Might and Power did the business for jockey Jim Cassidy, trainer jack Denham and owner Nick Moraitis. 
Savabeel, trained by Graeme Rogerson, added to Zabeel's tally in 2004, while
Maldivian created the record for Zabeel when winning the 2040 metres contest last year.

 

The Mark Kavangh-trained Maldivian won't be around to chase back-to-back victories this year after tearing a tendon in trackwork last week.  However Efficient (Zabeel ex Refused to Dance, by Defensive Play) is likely to be there - and with a very real chance of adding to Zabeel's illustrious record.

 

Efficient has already won a Melbourne Cup, Victoria Derby and Turnbull Stakes and has prize money of some A$4.5m to his credit.

 

Footnote: The only other sire to come near Zabeel's W S Cox Plate record is the great Star Kingdom.  He sired three Cox Plate winners; namely Kingster, Noholme and Star Affair.