VIVA VIA SISTINA IN COX PLATE

Chris Waller's Irish mare destroys rivals with record-breaking win in Aussie WFA classic

- Michael Lee

Racing scribes were spoilt for choice in picking an angle for Via Sistina's explosive win in the A$5 million (S$4.38 million) Group 1 Cox Plate (2,040m) at Moonee Valley, Melbourne on Oct 26.

On any given day, superstar jockey James McDonald finally hitting his 100th win in one of Australia's "Big Four" (with the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup and Golden Slipper) was an obvious tale to tell.

Sydney's multiple-champion trainer Chris Waller adding a fifth Cox Plate silverware to his wonder mare Winx's four between 2015 and 2018 was another narrative.

Human heroes aside, the Irish mare's fourth Group 1 in only six Australian starts underscores China outfit Yulong's (whose last horse at Kranji was Last Supper) laser-sharp eye in investing A$5.6 million in the 2023 Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes (2,01lm) winner.

But the real talking point was the mare herself. The Fastnet Rock seven-year-old was simply breathtaking when she pulverised Winx's 2017 record of 2min 02.94sec of the amphitheatre-like racecourse by almost two seconds, to 2min 1.07sec - which means she would have trounced Winx by 10 lengths.