{"id":341492,"date":"2023-10-25T01:46:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T01:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=341492"},"modified":"2023-10-25T02:01:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T02:01:09","slug":"race-that-got-away-that-devastated-top-trainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=341492","title":{"rendered":"'Race that got away' that 'devastated' top trainer"},"content":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffhe 2021 Cox Plate<\/a> will forever be "the race that got away" for horse<\/a> trainer Annabel Neasham.<\/p>\n

She had prepared heavily-backed race favourite Zaaki for Australia's best and most lucrative weight-for-age race\ufeff.<\/p>\n

Such was the hype and confidence around the \ufeffgelding that bookmaker TAB paid out winning bets on the horse weeks before the Moonee Valley feature.<\/p>\n

ULTIMATE GUIDE:<\/strong> Everything to know about the 2023 Melbourne spring carnival\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Updated Melbourne Cup order of entry for 2023\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

But on the morning of the event, a "devastated" Neasham announced Zaaki had been scratched due to an elevated temperature.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"I slightly feel, having had him scratched as favourite on the day, you always feel like it's maybe the race that got away," Neasham told Wide World of Sports ahead of this year's Cox Plate.<\/p>\n

\"Jamie<\/p>\n

"To think that two years later we're still here with a live chance is pretty exciting.<\/p>\n

"I want to win all the majors, but I think for that reason that I feel like it slipped away from us that it's slightly on top of my list of races that I want to win."<\/p>\n

Zaaki is back in the Cox Plate field this year, this time rated a $19 chance with TAB. In the 2022 running he finished fourth paying $6.50.<\/p>\n

The talented nine-year-old has amassed more than $10.5 million in prize money for connections across a 45-start career \ufeffthat's included four Group 1 triumphs.<\/p>\n

The Cox Plate has eluded him, though, and Neasham is still hopeful of adding the famed trophy to his cabinet before retirement.<\/p>\n

"It would mean the world," she said.<\/p>\n

"The Cox Plate is a major race that we all want to win as trainers, jockeys, owners.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, a scratching has again altered Zaaki's quest for this year's Plate.<\/p>\n

He was withdrawn from the $5m King Charles III Stakes at Randwick earlier this month after Neasham found irregularities in his bloods.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>'Totally wrong': Alastair Clarkson tipped for hefty payout<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>'Insane': Proteas star blasts huge hundred in crushing win<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Manly's unique deal to beloved veteran revealed<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jamie<\/p>\n

But rather than be concerned about the horse's fitness, Neasham believes the hiccup may in fact aid Zaaki's Cox Plate push.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"It was a little bit of deja vu from two years ago when he was scratched (when) he was favourite for the Cox Plate… That one hurt a little bit more," she said.<\/p>\n

"He runs very well fresh. He's certainly proven to us he's a very good horse fresh.<\/p>\n

"I think it's an open Cox Plate this year. He's got a really big set of lungs, he never really has a blow.<\/p>\n

"If I had to pick one of my horses to go that long between runs it would be him. It may end up being of benefit to him being fresh.\ufeff"<\/p>\n

If Zaaki gets through the Cox Plate – win, lose, or draw – Neasham hopes to end his spring carnival with another assault on the Champions Stakes, of which he has won the last two.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

T\ufeffhe 2021 Cox Plate will forever be "the race that got away" for horse trainer Annabel Neasham. She had prepared heavily-backed race favourite Zaaki for […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":341494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341492"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=341492"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":341498,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341492\/revisions\/341498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/341494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=341492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=341492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=341492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}