Pinker Pinker Wins The 2011 Tatts Cox Plate

Pinker Pinker has become only the sixth mare to win the Tatts Cox Plate

Monday, 24 October 2011

Pinker Pinker has become only the sixth mare to win the Tatts Cox Plate.

Craig Williams' fairytale spring continued and Greg Eurell celebrated his biggest win as a trainer when Pinker Pinker upset Australasia's top weight-for-age performers in Saturday's $3 million Tatts Cox Plate at Moonee Valley.

The classy four-year-old put her name alongside some of Australian racing's all-time great females when she defeated male contemporaries Jimmy Choux and Rekindled Interest in the 2040m Group 1.

It was the second major in as many weeks for Williams, who won the previous Saturday's $2.5 million BMW Caulfield Cup with Southern Speed, and he said it was fantastic to be reaping rewards at the biggest time of the year.

“There's nothing better,” Williams said. “This crowd is fantastic and this is the time of year when everyone is working really hard to get the results.”

Williams made the most of a dream run to claim Australasia's weight-for-age championship.

Despite starting from barrier 11, he found a position one off the fence heading out of the straight the first time and took the opportunity to duck back to the rail rounding the home before peeling into the clear at the top of the straight.

Jimmy Choux looked set to give New Zealand victory on the 25th anniversary of Bonecrusher's famous win when he dashed clear at the 200m, but he couldn't withstand the strong finishing burst of Pinker Pinker.

The $26 chance pulled away for a 1.3-length win over the Kiwi, who started at $6.50, while the luckless Rekindled Interest ($10), who was caught in a bumping duel with Efficient for several strides around 500m out, just a long a long head away.

The other Kiwi in the race, Wall Street, belied his $81 price tag to run fourth, beaten just 1.8 lengths, marginally in advance of classy Sydney mare Secret Admirer ($13).

“I got lucky enough around the first turn and got a good position and the gallop was really good and then I had to make a decision along the back, inside or outside, and I just took the runs when they came,” Williams said.

“I wasn't on a ‘twos-on' ($1.50) favourite so I was able to ride with no pressure to ride her how I felt. Greg and the connections never put any pressure on me, I just took it as it came and it was brilliant.

“When he (Jimmy Choux) kicked at the top of the straight I thought, ‘oh ooh, we're going to run second here', but I gave her one tap just to remind her to go and she just really accelerated and then from then on she was never in doubt.

“She went to the line very convincing and I had the biggest smile. I just felt so good.”

So did Eurell. An Australian equestrian representative at the 1984 Olympic Games, he said seeing his stable star join Makybe Diva, Sunline, Dane Ripper, Flight and Tranquil Star as the only mares to have won the Cox Plate was his biggest moment in sport.

“It's taken a bit to absorb, that's for sure,” he said. “I would say this is something anybody in Australia would have as their ultimate goal.

“I rode and my ultimate goal was to go to the Olympic Games, which was absolutely fantastic, and I sort of wondered whether anything would surpass that but I think today has.

“I was very, very happy with the way she led into this, this mare, all the way through. You always have little hiccups that create a problem and you don't like to see but she just had nothing go wrong. She led into this absolutely perfect.”

John Bary, trainer of Jimmy Choux, was thrilled with the effort of his charge, who was written off by many after a lacklustre track gallop on Tuesday morning.

“I'm really proud of him, he's a champion horse. He's my champion horse anyway,” he said. “The winner was just too good.”

Rekindled Interest's trainer Jim Conlan took his gelding's defeat as well as could be expected.

“I'll have to have a good look at the replay, but he looked like he was a bit unlucky,” Conlan said immediately after the race. “He just got held up at a vital stage. That's racing.”

Helmet (eighth), backed from $3.40 into $2.80 favouritism, found the lead comfortably and had a good run by was beaten before straightening, finishing 4.4 lengths from the winner, while another well-supported runner, Glass Harmonium ($12 to $10, 10th), had his chances ruined by a tardy getaway.

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