McEvoy says winning the Cox Plate was the moment that changed his career. "It gave me acceptance, I think. I think people accepted me as a trainer when I won that race and it's a great feeling. It's a feeling I'd want everyone to feel and I'm ready for that feeling again.
"The Cox Plate is a different race to any other. The pressure builds from the 1200-metre mark and you need a really tough horse. Is my horse tough enough? I'm not too sure. Is Winx tough? Yes."
There are a few reasons to be optimistic about Royal Symphony being a worthy adversary that may force Winx to stretch her neck, at least for longer than older horses have managed at weight-for-age over 2000m in the past.
For starters, Royal Symphony has had a few looks at The Valley. An exhibition gallop before the start of his spring campaign and two pieces of trackwork at the venue in the past week have helped familiarise the son of Domesday with the tight-turning circuit. His late surge to win the Listed Exford Plate (1400m) at Flemington was that of a future star. And recent three-year-old Cox Plate winners Shamus Award and So You Think were both beaten in the Caulfield Guineas, swooping from hopeless positions and catching the eye late.
That pair then made the most of their light weight to lead throughout at Moonee Valley a fortnight later. Royal Symphony appears the equal of that pair at the same stage of their careers - some might argue he's more advanced. "Royal Symphony was luckless in the Caulfield Guineas," McEvoy said. "He ran fourth but I believe he should have won the race. And I think he's improved."
McEvoy also has representation in the A$1m Manikato Stakes tomorrow night, with last season's Australian Guineas winner Hey Doc. "It's a mini Everest isn't? It's a deep race. I want to see where we're at," he said. "I think he showed me in The Goodwood [sixth to Vega Magic] that he's a Group 1 horse at a sprint distance."
Light weight no hassle for Royal Symphony's hoop
To the average onlooker, riding a racehorse at the light weight of 49.5kg might cause a flinch - or a stomach grumble.
But to jockey Dean Yendall, it's just business as usual. In fact, it's 2kg weight relief for him on last year, when he rode filly Yankee Rose (47.5kg) into third in the Cox Plate.
And Yendall's reaction to the question on what he has to do to 'get down' to the weight would be the envy of jockeys everywhere, as he tuned up the Tony McEvoy-trained colt Royal Symphony at Moonee Valley's Breakfast with the Best on Tuesday ahead of Saturday's A$3 million feature.
"Just don't eat junk food," Yendall told Racing.com. "I'm a natural lightweight. I'm really lucky.
"I wake up a couple of times at 48kg, doing a bit of work, sweating, getting dehydrated ... I'll be hitting the water when I get in the car, a coffee at McDonald's somewhere and off to Ballarat [to ride work for Darren Weir]." On Royal Symphony's work on Tuesday, Yendall said the colt did get a bit distracted late, but he was pleased overall.
On their winning hopes, looking to thwart Winx, Yendall said: "Obviously, she's a well-and-truly proven horse. He's got to put the score on the board. Hopefully we can be the villain."
