The W.S. Cox Plate is a Moonee Valley Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres, held at Moonee Valley Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in late October. The race has a purse of A$5,000,000.
Makybe Diva is a British-bred, Australian-trained Thoroughbred racehorse who became the first horse to win the Melbourne Cup on three occasions. In 2005, she also won the Cox Plate. Upon her retirement from racing in November 2005, Makybe Diva was the highest stakes-earner in Australian horse racing history, finishing with winnings of more than A$14 million. She is one of only five horses to have won the Cup more than once, and the only mare among the list of multiple winners. She is also one of only 14 female horses to have won the Cup.
Galileo is a retired Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. In a racing career which lasted from October 2000 until October 2001 he ran eight times and won six races. He is best known for winning The Derby, Irish Derby Stakes, and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2001 and for his rivalry with the Godolphin champion Fantastic Light. He was named the European Champion Three-Year-Old Colt of 2001.
Tie The Knot was an Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won 13 Group One races. In 1999-2000, he was voted Australian Champion Stayer.
Street Cry was a Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of the 2002 Dubai World Cup, the 2002 Stephen Foster Handicap and runner up in the 2002 Whitney Handicap. He was an international shuttle stallion that stood at the Darley Studs in Australia and the US.
Island Sands was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from August 1998 to June 2001 he ran nine times and won four races. His most notable success came in his first race as a three-year-old in 1999, when he won the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket. His subsequent career was restricted by injury and he won only one minor race in the next two years. He retired to a stud career in China.
Winx is a retired champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. Between May 2015 and her retirement in April 2019, she won 33 consecutive races including 25 Group 1s, at distances ranging from 1300 metres to 2200 metres. In the World's Best Racehorse Rankings, she was the second-ranked filly or mare in 2015, improving in 2016 to become both the world's top-ranked filly or mare and the world's top-ranked turf horse. She retained this ranking in 2017 and in 2018 was co-ranked as the best horse in the world. In 2017 she was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, only the third horse to earn this honour while still in training. Over her career, she earned more than 26 million Australian dollars.
Valixir is an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was trained for most of his career in France where he won two minor races and finished second in the Prix des Chênes as a juvenile in 2003. When campaigned over middle distances in 2004 he won the Prix Matchem, Prix Eugène Adam and Prix Niel as well as being placed in both the Prix du Jockey Club and the Prix Lupin. He was even better when brought back to shorter distances in the following year and recorded Group One victories in the Prix d'Ispahan and the Queen Anne Stakes. He transferred to the Godolphin stable in 2006 but showed no worthwhile form in three starts. Valixir was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion in Australia.
Chautauqua is a former and now retired champion Australian racehorse. He was bred as a thoroughbred, which is the superior breed for a racehorse. Chautauqua's grey colouring saw him receive the nickname “The Grey Flash”. Chautauqua raced 32 times, winning 6 group one races and earning AU$8,821,935 in prize money. This includes three successive Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes wins and a Group 1 Chairman's Sprint Prize win.
Benbatl is a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was unraced as a two-year-old in 2016 but in the following year he won the Hampton Court Stakes and was placed in both the Craven Stakes and the Dante Stakes as well as finishing fifth in the Epsom Derby. In 2018 he began the season in Dubai where he won the Singspiel Stakes and the Al Rashidiya before defeating a strong international field in the Dubai Turf. On his return to Europe he won the Bayerisches Zuchtrennen in Germany and was then sent to Australia where he took the Caulfield Stakes and ran second in the Cox Plate.
Cross Counter is a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2018 Melbourne Cup. After winning two minor races he was gelded before returning in the summer of 2018 to win two more races including the Gordon Stakes as well as finishing second in the Great Voltigeur Stakes and fourth in the King George V Stakes. In autumn he was sent to Australia and on 6 November he became the first British-trained horse to win the Melbourne Cup. In 2019 he won the Dubai Gold Cup and ran third in the Goodwood Cup. He failed to win in 2020 but finished third in the Ascot Gold Cup and the Henry II Stakes.
Lyre is a Thoroughbred racehorse trained and bred in Australia. She has won a Group One race, and over a million dollars.
Merchant Navy is an Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed considerable promise as a juvenile when he was undefeated in three start including the Listed ANZAC Day Stakes. As a three-year-old he proved himself one of the best horses of his generation in Australia over sprint distances, taking the HDF McNeil Stakes and the Coolmore Stud Stakes as well as being placed in both the Rubiton Stakes and the Newmarket Handicap. In the summer of 2018 he was relocated to Europe where he won both his races, namely the Greenlands Stakes in Ireland and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Pinatubo is a retired Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the top-rated European two-year-old of 2019 when he was unbeaten in six races including the Woodcote Stakes, Chesham Stakes, Vintage Stakes, National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes. In the following year he won the Prix Jean Prat and was placed in the 2000 Guineas, St James's Palace Stakes and Prix du Moulin.
Ghaiyyath is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed very promising form as a juvenile in 2017 when he won two of his three races including the Autumn Stakes. Training problems restricted him to only one start in 2018, a victory in the Prix du Prince d'Orange. In the spring of 2019 he won the Prix d'Harcourt and ran third in the Prix Ganay before returning in autumn to win the Grosser Preis von Baden by fourteen lengths. In 2020 he added victories in the Dubai Millennium Stakes, Coronation Cup, Eclipse Stakes and International Stakes.
Happy Clapper is a retired multiple Group 1 winning Australian bred thoroughbred racehorse.
Flit is a Group 1 winning Australian thoroughbred racehorse.
Australian was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was exported to the United States where he had modest success as a racehorse but became a very successful and influential breeding stallion.
Verry Elleegant is a six-time Group 1 winning New Zealand bred, Australian trained thoroughbred racehorse.
Black Heart Bart is a retired six-time Group 1 winning Australian bred thoroughbred racehorse.
