South Australia could have two runners in the Cox Plate, with newly minted Group 1 winner Behemoth being aimed at Australia’s weight-for-age championship.
SA Derby runner-up Dalasan already has the Moonee Valley classic in his sights, while Behemoth trainer David Jolly has revealed he is also targeting the 2040m event, to be run on AFL grand final day, Saturday, October 24.
“I would love nothing more than to have a Cox Plate runner,” Goolwa-based Jolly told 10 News First Adelaide this week.
“It’s something even as a kid, it’s a race you’re always in awe of.”
Behemoth stormed into Cox Plate calculations with an easy win in last Saturday’s Group 1 Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
If the giant-sized galloper makes it to the race, he could face a rematch with the Leon Macdonald and Andrew Gluyas-trained Dalasan. The pair clashed in Adelaide last month, when Behemoth scored a decisive win in the 1200m Group 3 Spring Stakes at Morphettville.
Spectator restrictions in Victoria – due to the COVID-19 pandemic – will severely impact attendance numbers at the 2020 Cox Plate, however Jolly still hopes to make it trackside if Behemoth runs.
“I’d certainly kill to be there,” Jolly said, “but hopefully in a few weeks’ time maybe things ease a little bit.”
Dalasan runs at Flemington in the Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) next Saturday, September 12.