Winx will have just seven rivals for her unprecedented fourth Cox Plate bid after Trap For Fools, which was a controversial scratching from last week's Coongy Cup, was denied a start in the $5 million race.
Predictions of the smallest Cox Plate field in half a century didn't quite materialise, but Jarrod McLean's Trap For Fools was excluded at the behest of the Moonee Valley Racing Club committee following the Breakfast With The Best trackwork session on Tuesday morning.
Field set: Winx will have seven competitors in her way as she attempts to make Cox Plate history on Saturday.Credit:Fairfax Media
They have the discretion to exclude horses from the race and left out Trap For Fools, which finished fifth and less than two lengths behind Winx in his last start in the group 1 Turnbull Stakes.
Stewards ordered the withdrawal of the five-year-old from a race at last week's Caulfield Cup meeting after it was stabled at Darren Weir's Warrnambool base rather than the Yangery one of McLean.
McLean trains a small string of horses under his own name while working as Weir's foreman.
Trap For Fools is a three-time listed winner in Perth, but is yet to win at stakes level on the east coast.
"The committee felt his form didn't warrant a run and the field was narrowed to eight starters," Moonee Valley chairman Don Casboult said on Trap For Fools.
Winx drew barrier favourably in barrier six with group 1-winning stablemate D'argento also a late inclusion.
Weir will run last year's runner-up Humidor and King's Will Dream, which started as Caulfield Cup favourite and pulled up with some minor lacerations.
Godolphin's United Kingdom-based Caulfield Stakes winner Benbatl and Aidan O'Brien's Irish raider Rostropovich will join New Zealand mare Savvy Coup as the three overseas-trained runners to take on Winx.
Meanwhile, Kementari and three-year-old filly Sunlight have been installed at the top of betting for the Manikato Stakes on Friday night.
Sunlight drew ideally in barrier four while Kementari will launch from the 12 alley in a field boosted by the inclusion of four O'Brien sprinters, headed by The Everest runner US Navy Flag.
COX PLATE FIELD
1 Benbatl (3) Oisin Murphy
2 Humidor (7) Damian Lane
3 King's Will Dream (4) John Allen
4 Avilius (1) Glyn Schofield
5 D'argento (2) Kerrin McEvoy
6 Winx (6) Hugh Bowman
7 Rostropovich (8) Ryan Moore
8 Savvy Coup (5) Chris Johnson
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