It’s a small but cracking betting field in the final Cox Plate run over the traditional Moonee Valley course, but one element, or lack thereof, has everyone talking – the pace.
With Globe withdrawn from the field on Thursday morning, the likely leader looks to be Light Infantry Man and, on paper, it doesn’t look to have the pressure of a traditional Cox Plate.
And though he’s mostly keeping his powder dry due to this mystery tempo, Scott ‘Fizzer’ Fitzsimmons of the Wolfden crew is siding with the horse who seems to be the least affected by slow tempos and the most likely to throw the cat among the pigeons at some point, in Antino.
“This race has really got me stumped – I don’t know what to make from anything, because of the lack of the pace,” Fizzer said.
“We’ve seen all these horses – Via, Treasurethe Moment and Buckaroo all come undone because of maps … if there’s a way from Via Sistina.
“I know it’s her (Via’s) grand final, but I think Antino is the one in this race. I think his runs have actually been better than Via Sistina’s its last couple and, for me, he’s the one to beat.
“We know what we get with Via on her day and she’s a fair freak, but I just think Antino put the writing on the wall last start and Via was a bit disappointing.”
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