AUSTRALASIA · SATURDAY 24 OCTOBER 2026
Flemington, Melbourne, for one year only. 2040 metres. Group 1.
The Cox Plate is the race Australians use to settle who the best horse in the country is. It is run at weight-for-age: every horse carries a set weight according to its age and sex, so nobody is handicapped for being good. The best horse has nowhere to hide.
This year it has moved house. Its home track, The Valley at Moonee Valley, is closed for redevelopment, so the 2026 Cox Plate is run at Flemington, the home of the Melbourne Cup, for one year only.
The facts
- When: Saturday 24 October 2026
- Where: Flemington, Melbourne, for 2026 only
- Distance: 2040 metres, about ten furlongs
- Conditions: Group 1, weight-for-age
How Turfling covers it
The Australasia brief follows the lead-up races and the field every morning. On Instagram we ask you to call the winner in race week and post the result the next day. Percentages and picks only, never odds.
Every brief on the Cox Plate
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6–10 minutes
Final Orders makes it two in a row for Cromwell at Pardubice
Keith Donoghue and Gavin Cromwell won the Velka pardubicka for a second year running as Final Orders held the home trained Godfrey over 6,900 metres and 31 obstacles at Pardubice.
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5–7 minutes
Melham booked for Blind Raise as the Cox Plate call nears
Jamie Melham will ride Blind Raise at 49.5kg in the Group 1 Cox Plate at Flemington on 24 October if the Caulfield Guineas runner up takes his place, with Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young to decide in the next few days.
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6–9 minutes
Darkness Falls edges the Dewhurst as O’Brien talks Triple Crown
Darkness Falls came back from nine furlongs to beat Desert Castle by a neck in the Dewhurst, and Aidan O’Brien said the stable had always believed this colt could be the one to win a Triple Crown.
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5–7 minutes
Warwoven completes the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas double
Warwoven became the fourth horse to complete the Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas double, beating Blind Raise by a length and three quarters in Saturday’s $3 million Caulfield Guineas.
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7–11 minutes
Daryz retires to stud after a second Arc
Aga Khan Studs have retired the dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Daryz, with the choice between Haras de Bonneval in France and Gilltown Stud in Kildare still to be made.
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8–12 minutes
Luster crosses the border for the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup
Luster, the King’s Plate winner, heads eleven fillies into Saturday’s Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland, the 43rd running and worth 750,000 dollars.
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5–8 minutes
Warwoven and Blind Raise collide in the Caulfield Guineas
The Golden Rose winner Warwoven makes his Melbourne debut against the unbeaten New Zealand bred Blind Raise in Saturday’s $3 million Caulfield Guineas.
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4–6 minutes
Coolmore and Chris Waller Racing name their Everest runners
Giga Kick will carry the Coolmore slot in The Everest and Joliestar runs for Chris Waller Racing, both confirmed on Wednesday for the 17 October sprint at Royal Randwick.
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5–8 minutes
Ka Ying Rising beaten a neck in his Everest trial at Randwick
Ninja beat the champion sprinter by a neck in a Randwick barrier trial on Tuesday, and David Hayes says the soft ground and longer grass were against him.
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5–7 minutes
Bjorn Baker keeps Warwoven in Sydney before the Caulfield Guineas
The Golden Rose winner stays north for his Caulfield Guineas preparation, with a Cox Plate start at Flemington possible if Saturday goes well.
More big races: The Everest · Breeders’ Cup · Melbourne Cup · New to racing