Romantic Warrior was such an interesting runner in Saturday's Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m). There were plenty of backers and layers, some suggesting he had no hope off his even Turnbull run, others saying he was right on track.

In the end, he's managed to make the jump he needed to, improving six pounds (roughly 2.5 lengths) and running to his peak rating of 126 with Timeform, a number he's now run twice, with two other ratings of 125 right there to support it.

This is about typical of what wins a Cox Plate, and is a good reason to remember months before when it's "shaping up like a weak year" that big races often take a similar amount of winning. We ended up with a world-class horse from Hong Kong, two weight-for-age champs in Mr Brightside and Alligator Blood fill the placings, and a few three-year-olds that plenty were making a strong case for.

126 is the same number Anamoe ran to last year to win, beating the 124 rated I'm Thunderstruck. This year, Mr Brightside (125) and Alligator Blood (124) have both run to their absolute peaks to fill the placings, again proving that the Cox Plate really is a race for the established class horses.

It's probably not a vintage Cox Plate in terms of ratings, margins or any of those other metrics but it doesn't have to be. We saw a thrilling contest between legitimate stars where the big guns have basically all run to their best.

It will be fascinating to see if anything goes to Flemington out of this. Mr Brightside and Alligator Blood are both likely, and both seem more likely to drop back to the mile. Duais was excellent and arguably should've gone close. If she has another run in her, the Group 1 Champions Stakes (2000m) will suit her beautifully.

Gold Trip of course goes to the Melbourne Cup. He was solid, but I'm not sure this set up works as well for him compared to last year where he had wet tracks and two easier lead up runs. He's run 122, four pounds below his best but still better than what he did (with no luck) in this race last year.

Fangirl also didn't have the best of luck but that's more due to her racing pattern than anything. She got the perfect storm the start prior and has basically just regressed to her previous best rating of 117.

Tangerine Terror

Imperatriz justified her very short quote in the Group 1 Manikato Stakes (1200m) and has basically just run up to her number again which is going to win her nearly any sprint race in the world.

She's now run her peak of 124 at her past four starts which is incredible consistency. She'll be short again in the Group 1 Champions Sprint (1200m) but will have some much stiffer competition with In Secret headed that way.

She's rated four pounds higher than In Secret and whether you want to buy in to the straight track suiting In Secret better, Imperatriz will need to run her race away from The Valley to still be winning. It'll be interesting to see how big the gap in the market will be.

Three-Year-Olds

Just to quickly touch on a few other races that need lining up ahead of Group One targets…

Skybird raced to the top of Group 1 Thousand Guineas (1600m) betting with a big win in the Group 2 Fillies Classic (1600m). She's run to 102+ which is still six pounds off what Coeur Volante did at Caulfield but definitely has more to come given her very strong sectionals (again). There's very little between them.

Apulia has run a new peak of 109 in the Group 2 Drummond Golf Vase (2040m). That's still one pound off what Riff Rocket did in his big win and he did it with more to come. I still think Riff Rocket is the clear horse to beat in Saturday's Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) but probably won't start under $2.50 which should create a good opportunity.

Archo Nacho won a very slowly run Group 3 Red Anchor Stakes (1200m), running to 109+. It'll only get harder if they do back up at Flemington and I'd rather be against this form if any do run.

All in all, a great day that celebrated the stars, with plenty to look forward to at Flemington.