W.S. Cox Plate Legend - Tulloch

When a horse is inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, they are one of the best; their standing isn’t questioned. Tulloch was a champion, missing a place only once from his 53 starts; seventh in the Melbourne Cup.

 He was hailed by many, including legendary trainer Tommy Smith, as the best horse since Phar Lap and Carbine; such is the illustrious company the stallion keeps. The remarkable story of Tulloch’s career was that it came in two parts, his amazing feats as a 2YO and a 3YO and the comeback as an older horse after suffering a life-threatening infection.

As a 3YO he took all before him winning 14 of his 16 starts, including the VRC, AJC and Queensland Derbies, even winning the Caulfield Cup in the same preparation carrying 48kg as a 6/4 favourite. 

Soon after his 3YO season, illness set in and it wasn’t until the autumn of 1960 Tulloch returned to the track, with many believing he may not ever return to his best. He quickly proved the doubters wrong and won stakes races in Sydney before being set for the Melbourne Spring Carnival targeting the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup. 

In the 1960 Cox Plate, Tulloch drew the outside in a field of 15 that included two of the best weight-for-age performers of the time in Dhaulagiri and Sky High, as well as a strong New Zealand contingent.

Regular jockey Neville Sellwood got across into the box seat leaving the straight, and he took off from the 1000 metres, hitting the front 600 metres from home. It was a game move from Sellwood, with Tulloch then needing to withstand a late challenge from Dhaulagiri to win by half a length, with the outstanding galloper Persian Lyric third and Sky High unplaced. A year later, Dhaulagiri would win the Cox Plate when the mighty Tulloch was missing.

Tulloch went on to run a race record of 2:01.1 for 10 furlongs and the crowd, estimated as the biggest ever assembled at The Valley with an attendance of 50,670, with each of them giving him a reception to equal his wondrous deeds.

Ten days later Tulloch lined up in the Melbourne Cup and lumped a record 63kg in the race, given an ordinary ride by Neville Sellwood who set the champ an impossible task of being 60 lengths from lead with only 1200m to go. Tulloch couldn’t make up that much ground finishing seventh. 

Tulloch did return to racing in the autumn of 1961 to win more stakes races in Sydney and Brisbane. When he retired, he won 19 races, now classified as Group 1’s. His race record of only missing a place once, numerous track records and the love affair with the public will ensure that he is one of a select few who would get a seat at the table when debating who is the ‘greatest equine of all time’.