Cosmic Crusader’s Cox Plate victory at Flemington has made Andrea Leek the first woman in 32 years to train the winner of the race, completing a landmark triumph for the 53-year-old and jockey William Pike.
Leek’s horse surged down the famous straight to defeat Chris Waller’s Birdman and Aeliana in the $6 million contest, with Ceolwulf fourth. Gai Waterhouse’s favourite, Sir Delius, finished sixth.
The win was achieved without Leek’s husband, John Leek Jr, at the track. The 72-year-old was watching from a friend’s house after being banned from racing and all tracks for three years in August following a charge of attempting to stomach tube a horse.
Under racing rules, he is also prohibited from staying at the family home in Nar Nar Goon North because it is a training property.
“It’s devastating not having him here,” Leek said after the race. “He’s my biggest supporter, and he’s devastated he’s not able to be here.
“But he’ll still be in the background, and he’ll be celebrating with us tonight.”
Leek said the family were still dealing with the consequences of her husband’s disqualification, but hoped the Racing Victoria board would consider allowing him to return home under safety conditions.
“Not being able to be on the family farm is very hard, and not being able to have him at home, you know, being at home on my own is very, very difficult,” she said.
“So I think November 17, they (the Racing Victoria board) are looking at that and whether they can put in some safety parameters and he can be with his cows and dogs and just be in the house and not near any horses. We are really hoping that will prevail.”
Even in his absence, Leek joined Deirdre Stein and Moira Murdoch as the only female trainers to have won the Cox Plate. She had previously described herself as feeling like an “imposter” alongside trainers such as Waller and Ciaron Maher.
“I can’t feel that way any longer,” she said after the victory.
The breakthrough followed a decision by Western Australian owner Bob Peters to send Cosmic Crusader to Leek rather than the larger operations with which he had been advised to work.
“I said I’d probably gone a bit senile, but it’s worked out all right,” Peters said.
Leek received the initial call from Peters while watching jumps racing at Terang. He asked whether she was prepared to take the horse, and she accepted the challenge.
“He gave me some guidelines that I had to do, and I said, ‘absolutely, I’m up for it’, and here we are, we’ve won the Cox Plate,” she said.
Pike, a long-time ally of Peters, settled Cosmic Crusader third-last in the 14-horse field as Land Legend established a fast pace. The jockey waited before sending the horse after Aeliana and Birdman in the closing stages.
Cosmic Crusader powered past both rivals in the final 50 metres, prompting Pike to stand in his irons and salute after crossing the line.
“I’m not much of a saluter, I’m like ‘don’t salute, don’t salute’ and then the moment gets the better of you and you stand up and you salute and you carry on,” Pike said.
The victory erased the disappointment of finishing fourth in the Caulfield Cup the previous week. Leek said Cosmic Crusader had been in better condition for the Flemington race.
“Maybe the Caulfield Cup was a slip in run. We were always hoping he was good enough for a Cox Plate, and he is,” she said.
