Horse racing: Chris Waller compares Via Sistina to legendary Winx after Cox Plate victory

James McDonald on Via Sistina after winning the Cox Plate. Photo / Getty Images

Trainer Chris Waller paid his record-breaking Cox Plate winner Via Sistina the ultimate accolade as he favourably compared her ability to his legendary four-time race-winner Winx.

The former Irish mare destroyed her opponents in the A$5 million Cox Plate at The Valley on Saturday, giving James McDonald a magical 100th Group 1 win.

But even his feat was overshadowed by the dazzling performance of the winner.

After winning his fifth Cox Plate, Waller said the two mares are completely different but, in terms of ability, it is “a photo finish”.

“What Winx did was over a long period of time. She beat whatever was put against her, she won by big margins, she broke track records,” Waller said.

Waller pointed out Via Sistina had also set a new track record in winning the Cox Plate and won by a big margin, recording a time of 2:01.07 that shattered Winx’s track record of 2:02.94, set when she won her third Cox Plate in 2017.

Via Sistina matched Winx’s eight-length winning margin of 2016, while Winx set track records in two of her Cox Plate victories, in 2015 and then again two years later.

Waller went into the race full of confidence, believing Via Sistina was the best horse in the field.

“I’ve grown up thinking the best horse wins the Cox Plate, and my opinion hasn’t changed today,” he said

Waller said he had to adjust his training regime for Via Sistina after her track mishap on Tuesday morning, when winning rider James McDonald initially told him after he had fallen from the mare that she couldn’t run in the Cox Plate.

Waller said he and his team took a positive attitude to the situation and didn’t lose faith that she would be able to run in the Cox Plate, taking a common-sense approach.

“There’s probably 10 key factors and it’s not anything else except common sense, simple as that,” he said.

“I concentrate on putting on a good show and counteracting what was perceived as a problem on Tuesday morning.

“I’ve got an instinct. Whether it’s a footy coach, whether [it’s] a mother looking after a child – if something goes wrong, you fix it. We tried everything we could to turn it into a well-perceived option, looking after the horse and doing everything right.”

Waller said taking Via Sistina back to Moonee Valley on Thursday for another look and gallop was part of the strategy to get her confidence back.

“It was about doing everything right. A lot of what we did was probably overkill,” Waller said.

Waller said he was pleased McDonald had achieved his 100th Group 1 win on Via Sistina, but for him it was business as usual despite equalling legendary trainer Bart Cummings’ haul of five Cox Plate wins. Only Tommy Smith with seven and Jack Holt with six are ahead of them.

— Racing.com.

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.