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Sir Delius’ Cox Plate plan laid out
Connor Scanlon • August 7th, 2026 12:41 pm
The favourite for the 2026 Cox Plate (2040m), Sir Delius, is edging ever so close to his Spring Racing Carnival preparation.
After winning the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) in the autumn, the Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott-trained stallion has enjoyed a few months in the paddock, but now he is starting to trial for the spring.
On July 31, the son of Frankel, completed a trial at Randwick across 1000m, where he finished in second, ahead of Autumn Glow (third).
Reflecting on that trial, co-trainer Adrian Bott admitted the stallion was “really good” in that Randwick jumpout and he is “delighted” with how the three-time Group 1 winner is travelling.
“I thought he looked really good in the trials there the other day,” Bott told SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.
“He seems a bit sharper this preparation, looks great in his actions, and stretched out really well. He's recovered nicely off the back of the trial.
“I’m delighted with the preparation for him to date, just the way he's coming in for us… I think he's in really good shape.”
But Bott isn’t convinced that Sir Delius is ready to return to the races just yet.
The six-year-old will undergo another two trials before kicking off his spring preparation across 1600m first-up.
“We'll probably give him another two trials, just make sure he's got the right foundation before we see him kick off,” Bott stated.
“He was still relatively quiet there the other day.
“We'll just keep asking a bit more of him, with the view of kicking him off over a mile first time out.
“That’s the path and pattern we've followed with him previously and that seems to be working well for him.”
Regarding what that first-up race will be, the co-trainer revealed that it will be none other than the Group 1 Makybe Diva at Flemington, before heading into the Cox Plate third-up.
“At this stage we're going down (to Melbourne) to kick off in the Makybe Diva,” revealed Bott.
“And we are looking to get to the Cox Plate third-up for us!”
When looking into the market for the prestigious 2040m Group 1, Sir Delius tops the market at $3.50 while Aeliana ($4.50) is the close second-favourite, before the market moves into double-digit odds for the rest of the horses.
For Sir Delius’ first-up run in the Makybe Diva, Sheza Alibi is the $2.10 favourite, ahead of Autumn Glow ($4.50), Aeliana ($6) and Sir Delius ($6).
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