Chad Schofield knows he will appreciate a second Cox Plate victory much more than his first. The 32-year-old won the race as a teenage apprentice on Shamus Award in 2013, the first by an apprentice in 38 years. "It feels like forever ago, and geez, it would be very special to win another one," he said.
That first win was part of a whirlwind period. "When I won the Cox Plate, I was still an apprentice and I was pretty green. It was all a blur," Schofield recalled. Not long after, he broke his neck and spent a long period recovering before riding for seven years in Hong Kong.
Schofield's return to Australian racing was a struggle. "I was riding poorly, really badly, so the chances I was getting dried up, and I found myself having to start all over again and rebuild from the bottom," he said. Now, coming off a career-highlight win in the $20 million Everest on Tempted, Schofield will partner Ceolwulf in the $6 million Cox Plate at Flemington. "I feel like Ceolwulf is in career-best form," he said.
For Tiffani Brooker, the journey has been steeper. The former champion Queensland apprentice took Arabian Rose to victory in the Glasshouse Handicap in July, a comeback she feared might never happen. A fall in 2018, a positive drugs test, and struggles with depression and addiction had derailed her career. "It's a tough game, but if you keep showing up, you're eventually going to get some luck," Brooker said.
Brooker will ride Arabian Rose in the $2 million Invitation at Randwick after being returned to the ride by trainer James Healy. "I'm on, I'm off, but that just shows the relationship James and I have," she said. "She has been going so well this preparation."
Healy has full faith in Brooker and the mare, a $7000 Inglis Digital purchase. "Tiff did all her work leading up to her last run and she won the Glasshouse with a brilliant ride, and she knows the horse probably better than anyone," Healy said. "I think she's a massive top-three hope."