Pride of Jenni is the reigning Australian Horse of the Year, but even that esteemed title will not necessarily make her the favorite to win Friday’s Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, Australia. Pride of Jenni was second by three-quarters of a length to the improving Ceolwulf in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Randwick last Saturday and will have a rapid turnaround for the $3.32 million Cox Plate at about 1 1/4 miles. A winner of 8 of 33 starts, Pride of Jenni has thrived in the recent past in races run in quick succession. Last November in one-mile races at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, she won the Group 1 Empire Rose Stakes on Nov. 4 and returned seven days later to beat males in the Group 1 Cantala Stakes. :: Get free past performances, analysis, and picks for Australian racing In the Cox Plate, Pride of Jenni must beat expected favorite Prognosis, a 7-year-old horse from Japan who has won 7 of 15 starts in Japan and Hong Kong. As of early Thursday, Prognosis was the 2-1 favorite, while Pride of Jenni and Via Sistina were 3-1 in a field of nine. Prognosis has been outstanding at 1 1/4 miles, winning the Grade 2 Kinko Sho at the distance in 2023 and again this year in March. He was second by about a neck to Romantic Warrior in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Sha Tin Racecourse in Japan in April. More recently, Prognosis was fourth by slightly more than three lengths as the 3-10 favorite in the Group 2 Sapporo Kinen at 1 1/4 miles at Sapporo Racecourse on Aug. 18. Damian Lane has been booked to ride Prognosis in the Cox Plate. A key to a win is not leaving the 7-year-old Prognosis with too much to do late. Moonee Valley has a 190-yard stretch, far shorter than most Australian tracks. Pride of Jenni often shows speed. She won the Group 2 Feehan Stakes at a mile at Moonee Valley on Sept. 27, and was a Group 1 winner at a mile in April in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick in Sydney. The Cox Plate field includes Mr Brightside, who was second in the 2023 running, and Docklands, who was second in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at a mile at Royal Ascot in England in June. Randwick hosts pair of rich stakes There are two group stakes worth $1.28 million on Randwick’s Friday evening program – the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes for Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles, and the Group 2 Invitation Stakes for fillies and mares at seven furlongs. El Castello and Swiftfalcon, first and second by 1 3/4 lengths in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Rosehill Gardens on Oct. 12, were both 5-2 in early betting for the Spring Champion Stakes. Both can win their first Group 1 races in the Spring Champion Stakes, and both are three-time winners starting for the seventh time. El Castello tends to run as a stalker, while Swiftfalcon is more of a closer. In the Invitation Stakes, Magic Time and Zougotcha, who have combined to win five Group 1 races, were 3-1 joint favorites in early betting on Thursday along with Olentia, who has not won a Group 1. Olentia won the Group 3 Nivision Stakes at six furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on Oct. 12 in her first start since she finished seventh behind Zougotcha in the Group 1 Queen of the Turf Stakes at Randwick in April. Zougotcha was last of eight in the 7 Stakes at a mile at Randwick on Sept. 21, losing by 4 1/2 lengths. The loss reversed a streak of wins or second-place finishes in four Group 1 or Group 2 races since September 2023. Magic Time was unlucky not to finish closer than fifth by slightly more than a length in the Group 2 Gilgai Stakes at six furlongs at Flemington Racecourse on Oct. 12 after racing in traffic in the final strides. Randwick has a 10-race program beginning at 9:30 p.m. Eastern or 6:30 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.