What’s In Store in 2023 For Cox Plate Hero Anamoe?

Now that the Spring Carnivals are done and dusted for 2022, most trainers and owners will be busy making plans for the new year ahead. Of course, some horses will have business in places like Hong Kong and Japan across December, but many more will be held back until the autumn. And one of the heroes of the spring campaign – Anamoe – will be scrutinized more than most. 

Anamoe had a blistering run of form over the spring, taking four consecutive Group 1 victories, capped off by the WS Cox Plate win on 22^nd October. He could quite make it a perfect five from five when tasting defeat at the hands of Zaaki at Flemington in November, but it was still an incredible haul. Moreover, that win in the Cox Plate felt like something of a righting of the wrongs of the previous year when Anamoe was cruelly stripped of victory to hand the Cox Plate to State of Rest. 

Right now, we don’t know exactly what the plans are for Anamoe in 2023, but we can hazard some guesses, given what connections have said. In short, there are two main options for owners Godolphin: stay in Australia for a tilt at some of the biggest prizes of the Autumn Carnivals, or head abroad in an attempt to plunder the spoils in Dubai and Europe. Of course, there is also the option to do a little bit of both.

Queen Elizabeth Stakes a possibility 

Trainer James Cummings has hinted that the Canterbury Stakes in March at Randwick might be the most likely place we will see Anamoe make his seasonal bow, and there was also talk of a possible challenge for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes on 8^th April. Anamoe had a poor run in the latter event in 2022, and you get the feeling that Cummings and Godolphin would like to see the horse make amends. At the time of writing, Anamoe leads the ante-post horse racing odds for the Queen Elizabeth, and we expect to see him lead other markets, too, once bookmakers have done all their sums for the big races next year. 

But the options abroad are attractive too. An entry to the Dubai World Cup meeting in March is certainly a possibility. But it means that Anamoe would, at the very least, miss some of the action in Australia’s busy autumn period in March and April. 

Nature Strip shows the way 

Another possibility is to do something similar to what Nature Strip did in 2022. That is to say, contest the Autumn Carnival races, and then head off to Europe, specifically the UK and Royal Ascot. Nature Strip’s performance at Ascot in June in the King’s Stand Stakes was one of the highlights of the festival, and it won’t have gone unnoticed among other Australian trainers just how effortless he made the trip look. 

Of course, just because Nature Strip wowed the crowds at Ascot does not mean Anamoe will do the same. Moreover, we can see from the – frankly disastrous – European experiment of Verry Elleegant in 2022 that things might suddenly start to unravel. The 2021 Melbourne Cup winner had been aimed at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, eschewing any notion of defending the title, but things really didn’t go to plan. 

Still, Cummings and Godolphin have plenty of time to make up their minds over Anamoe. 2022 hasn’t quite come to an end yet, and we expect them to keep their cards close to their chest until a definite plan of action comes to light. However, it’s clear that the possibilities are intriguing. And based on recent performances, Anamoe could reel in more Group 1 victories at home – or abroad – in 2023. 

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