Champions to the fore in the 2025 Cox Plate

Top jockey Blake Shinn believes Antino has what it takes to win one of Australia’s most famous races — the Cox Plate (2040m) — describing the gelding as a horse capable of matching it with the very best.

Saturday’s edition will be the final Cox Plate on Moonee Valley’s current surface, adding another layer of history to a race that has defined generations. For Shinn, who came so close aboard Humidor in 2017 when nearly denying Winx her fourth title, the challenge remains unfinished business.

“This race really has everything year after year,” Shinn said. “There is always a great story about it and there is so much history about it. It is what we call the weight-for-age championship of our sport at 2000 metres. It is the best of the best and hopefully me and Antino can come out on top. I think he’s a horse that deserves all the accolades, but it won’t be easy with the reigning champion Via Sistina, but I feel he’s good enough to do it.”

Unfazed by predictions of a tactical affair, Shinn plans to trust Antino’s natural versatility. “Antino, he is quite adaptable. He has got a turn of foot. He’s not a one-paced horse,” he said. “He has that ability to make a mid-race move and he can sustain a really long run when I need him to do it. He’s now at a fitness level where I can make two runs on him, if need be, but I won’t be able to assess that until I get out there and get the feel of the race.”

Shinn has been buoyed by Antino’s progress since his dominant Toorak Handicap (1600m) win last year, and while he hasn’t scored this preparation, his performances have been first-rate — particularly his second in the Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington earlier this month.

“His run in the Turnbull, in my opinion was incredible,” Shinn said. “He had a kilo more than Sir Delius, two, three and four kilos more than the opposition in that race. He covered ground and was right there to the end. It was the run of a genuine weight-for-age horse and that’s set him up well for this test on Saturday. It all comes down to luck in running, circumstances and hopefully we can give him a smooth passage, and he gets his opportunity and with a bit of luck he’s good enough. You need a champion to win this race and hopefully Antino can prove to be one.”

For Shinn, who has spent years chasing his Cox Plate dream, Saturday offers another chance to etch his name into the race’s proud history — and he’s banking on Antino to make it happen.