Sir Dragonet wins Cox Plate

The 100th Cox Plate was always going to stand out in history, but jockey Glen Boss ensured it would remain in the memory for many years after snaring his fourth win in the race aboard class import Sir Dragonet on Saturday.

The fast-finishing victory over Irish horse Armory and local favourite Russian Camelot was the first for Victorian racing's emerging training force Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

Sir Dragonet ($7.50) came from midfield to run down Armory ($7.50) and win by a length-and-a-half, with three-quarters of a length to $3.50 favourite Russian Camelot.

Mugatoo, who all but hit the front out wide on the home turn, battled on well for fourth, just in front of luckless mare Arcadia Queen, who nearly fell mid-race.

Boss, who joined Hugh Bowman and Brent Thomson as four-time winners of the race, was a last-minute booking for the horse after Bowman opted to take a careless riding suspension this week so as to ride Anthony Van Dyck in last week's Caulfield Cup.

WATCH: Sir Dragonet's win

Boss had been in the winner's stall three times before, but he is still amazed at the thrill such races give him.

"As a young boy I used to watch a VCR (video) of Kingston Town and Manikato and I wore that out, so the Cox Plate was engrained into my psyche as a young boy," he said.

"It's a special race and I just couldn't have scripted the run any better. He just gave me a lovely ride. I was twitching my fingers throughout the race and he was there for me. I thought 'This is nearly going to be winning this'. He was up for the task.

"There's so many people I've got to thank. (Owner) Ozzie (Kheir) and all the boys. Obviously with Hughey Bowman - sorry mate - I got the call up and he was a part of it. They put up a few names and Hughey was bringing it right back to me, 'Put Bossy on' and I'm glad I got the job done.

"James Winks, I've been in constant contact with James. James is an incredible judge and he's going to be very good on TV when he gets going because he's got so much to bring. He's very intelligent and articulate and he never minced words with this horse - he told me straight up.

"I didn't want to hear any bullshit, any fluffy stuff. He told me exactly how it was. He was spot on to the 'T'.

"And to Ciaron, the whole team. Ciaron was very confident with this horse, speaking to him this morning. He was really confident and I was confident.

"I only thought once the rain came that this was the right horse. He's got great form and he just might go a little bit better in a Melbourne Cup, I'm telling you, because he was actually getting warmed up towards the line. He was actually getting quicker towards the post.

"The way he gave me a feel today, he might be running in a Melbourne Cup and running very well in one."

Boss had previously won the Cox Plate with Makybe Diva in 2005, So You Think in 2009 and Ocean Park in 2012.

A former jumps jockey, Maher has won four Grand Annual Steeplechases but rates winning the Cox Plate as the greatest moment in his training career.

"This is something else," he said. "The Cox Plate is the race you dream to just have a runner in let alone win it. Just having a horse good enough to run in the race.

"It's unbelievable. I can't thank (owners) Ozzie (Kheir) and Phil (Mehrten) and John O'Neill and all of the rest of the owners, Brae (Sokolski), I've probably missed a few.

"One, giving us the opportunity to train a horse of this calibre. You don't see that sort of form in this part of the world that much and I can't thank them enough.

"Also Dave's brother Harry and his father James. They looked after him at Newmarket.

"There's no bigger big race jockey than Bossy. We made the right call there with the right jockey and he got the job done.

"It's a Cox Plate. It hasn't sunk in. You grow up watching these races and to knock one off is pretty special."

Maher said he was pleased to also win for his training partner Eustace: "Dave, he's great. Dave is a very hard worker. He's a young bloke. We gel well together but the whole team. It's a big operation.

Maher said he was hoping to have at least three horses (Persan and Etah James) in the Melbourne Cup with Sir Dragonet already making plenty of appeal.

"He wouldn't have blown a candle out, he was like the stable pony after the race," he said.