The punters are tipping the internationals to rise to the top on Saturday at The Valley with Japan’s Prognosis favourite in Ladbrokes Cox Plate 2024 betting to beat home the locals in the Australasian weight-for-age championship.

The mare Lys Gracieux saluted for Japan down under in the 2019 Cox Plate with Damian Lane in the saddle. and Lane will chase a second victory aboard another visitor from the same country this weekend partnering the top elect for trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida.

The visitors were victorious in the Group 1 $5 million W.S. Cox Plate (2040m) last year with Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior and the money is on Prognosis to go back-to-back for the internationals.

Current Cox Plate betting at race sponsor Ladbrokes.com.au has the talented son of Deep Impact at $3.70 to become the first favourite to salute since Anamoe ($2.40 in 2022).

Prognosis and Lane will jump from barrier five in Saturday’s small but elite nine-horse Cox Plate field with the gate last producing a winner in Winx (2017) for her third of an eventual historic four victories.

While yet to win a Group 1 race himself, Prognosis has been excellent in plenty over majors overseas including running second to the reigning Cox Plate champion Romantic Warrior in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) narrowly beaten back in April.

At his latest he ran fourth in the Group 2 Sapporo Kinen (2000m) with improvement expected in his Australian race debut.

He rates highly now down under looking the goods in his recent lead-up work at The Valley making him a genuine danger.

Second favourite in the Cox Plate odds online is the Chris Waller-trained market mover Via Sistina backed in from $5.50 to $4 to hand Waller his fifth victory.

She was the talk of the town for all the wrong reasons on Tuesday morning when throwing her jockey James McDonald off and completing nearly three laps riderless around Moonee Valley.

Waller is confident the mare incredibly has taken no harm from the incident and will take her place on Saturday from gate four with J Mac, also escaping unscathed, in the saddle.

The ultra-consistent daughter of Fastnet Rock is a gun at the 2000m having won both the Ranvet Stakes and the Turnbull Stakes to give her an impressive overall record of five wins and four seconds from 11 starts at the distance.

She beat home stablemate Buckaroo narrowly in the Turnbull on October 5 at Flemington, the form of which was franked with Buckaroo going on to run second the Caulfield Cup last weekend.

How Via Sistina handles Moonee Valley, the pressure of the Cox Plate, and if there are any unseen but underlying issues from Tuesday will be key to her chances.

In a tight top half of the markets fellow mare, Pride Of Jenni, is also being kept at a conservative quote of $4.60 with the Ciaron Maher-trained seven-year-old drawn gate seven for Declan Bates.

Recent Feehan Stakes winner at the track she’s on the quick back-up off her King Charles second over the Randwick mile as the beaten favourite last weekend.

Fit and flying she’s chasing atonement, will be smart on the short turnaround, appreciate getting back 2000m and can lead from barrier to box without surprising.

A further two Cox Plate horses are currently under double figures for the win with the James Cummings-trained three-time Group 1 winning three-year-old Broadsiding ($6.50) set to fly with just 49.5kg from gate eight and last year’s runner-up Mr Brightside ($8.50) the best performer at the course at this level.

The rails-drawn UK visitor Docklands ($19), last start Caulfield Guineas third placegetter Evaporate ($23) who loves Moonee Valley, Waller’s other runner Kovalica ($26) coming off a Group 2 Hill Stakes second in Sydney, and perennial third placegetter Royal Patronage ($51) for the Waterhouse/Bott stable complete the line-up.

The 2024 Ladbrokes Cox Plate is set to run as Moonee Valley Race 9 at 5:10pm (AEDT) as the penultimate event on Saturday’s bumper 10-race card.

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