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Fairgray: J-Mac believed Via Sistina was going to lose Cox Plate
Connor Scanlon • October 26th, 2025 6:20 pm
Via Sistina won her 11th Group 1 on Saturday, as she claimed the final Cox Plate at Moonee Valley before the racecourse undergoes a full redevelopment.
The eight-year-old mare who was bought by Yulong Investments in 2023 for $5.2 million has now joint an elite class of horses to win multiple Cox Plates (Winx, Flight and Sunline), declaring herself as a legend.
The Chris Waller trained bay barely beat her stablemate Buckaroo by 0.1 lengths, in an epic finish which looked like Buckaroo would defeat Via Sistina – something which even Yulong’s COO Sam Fairgray believed was going to happen.
“She was a bit fired up,” Fairgray told RSN’s Correct Weight.
“Treasurethe Moment gave a good kick around the corner, and you had Buckaroo coming at Via, it looked at one point that Buckaroo was going to go past her.
“It was a very brave effort from her, she just tries so hard.
“It was great to see her stick her head out and win.”
The Yulong COO then broke down what the main difference between last year’s Cox Plate victory and this edition’s was.
“The first one you could see a long way out, so as she came around the bend you could see her bolting and getting further in front,” Fairgray explained.
“Whereas, on Saturday you could see she got to them, but she wasn’t getting away from them.
“You could see Buckaroo had tracked her up, and you could see the wheels spinning a bit on the corner.
“She’s just very tough the way she fought all the way down the straight.”
Superstar jockey James McDonald rode Via Sistina in the great race on Saturday, winning his fourth-consecutive Cox Plate.
However, Fairgray actually admitted that J-Mac believed Buckaroo was going to roll Via Sistina multiple times down the Monee Valley straight.
“James (McDonald) said five or six times down the straight he thought Buckaroo was going to get them, but she just kept going,” Yulong’s COO said.
“That’s what the good ones do.
“She’s gone well beyond expectations.”
