Hugh Bowman and Winx at The Valley on Tuesday morning (Image: Karl Kaldawi)
Winx will jump from barrier six as she faces seven rivals - two of them international stars - in her run for history in Saturday's Cox Plate.
Co-owner Peter Tighe opted for barrier six for the great mare just after 9:20am on Tuesday as many of the preferred gates had already been taken.
The task facing Winx as she attempts a fourth Cox Plate was made that touch more difficult around 7:45am when it was announced that Aidan O’Brien's emerging galloper Rostropovich was to be paid-up for as a final acceptor alongside another well-credentialed international in Godolphin's Benbatl.
The connections of former Perth horse Trap For Fools indicated they too would pay up to run but the Moonee Valley Racing Club committee decided to exclude him due to a lack of credentials at Group 1 level.
Rostropovich is here primarily for the Melbourne Cup, but is an Irish Derby runner-up who won a G2 Futurity Stakes over 1400 metres as a younger horse.
O'Brien will be searching for a second Cox Plate win following the ground-breaking performance of Adelaide in 2014.
Winx won her first Cox Plate from barrier one, then drew barrier three in 2016 and last year she jumped from barrier five.
Earlier in the morning, the field was announced for Friday night's $1 million Manikato Stakes. The 14-horse field boasts four internationals trained by O'Brien: Spirit Of Valor, Intelligence Cross, US Navy Flag and Fleet Review.
The favourite Kementari drew awkwardly in barrier 12.
2018 Cox Plate field:
1. Benbatl (Saeed bin Suroor, Oisin Murphy) - barrier 3
2. Humidor (Darren Weir, Damian Lane) - barrier 7
3. Kings Will Dream (Darren Weir, John Allen) - barrier 4
4. Avilius (James Cummings, Glyn Schofield) - barrier 1
5. D'Argento (Chris Waller, Kerrin McEvoy) - barrier 2
6. Winx (Chris Waller, Hugh Bowman) - barrier 6
7. Rostropovich (Aidan O'Brien, Ryan Moore) - barrier 8
8. Savvy Coup (Michael and Mathew Pitman, Chris Johnson) - barrier 5