Is Via’s Cox Plate win the best ever?

Was Cox Plate’s victory on Via Sistina the best of the race?

It may have been a reactionary question, but if ever there was a race that raised this question, it was the absolute debacle on Saturday.

Rich Irwin and Roger Aldridge discussed the strange performance on Dot Com And The Den Mondays and found it difficult to resist the point.

“She broke the Winx record by almost two seconds, and that’s incredible. That’s a tie for a record winning margin,” Aldridge said.

“Obviously there’s been some bias lately, but in terms of weights and measures there’s a legitimate argument to be made to say this was the greatest Cox Plate win of all time.”

In a poll posted on Wolfden’s Twitter page, 56.8% of voters agreed with him, with South Australian trainer Michael Hickmott highlighting Via Sistina’s stunning time in the second half of the race.

“Via Sistina ran her last thousand meters with a score of 57.6. The open sprint was won in 57.44 with the winner leading and running like a greyhound,” he said.

“To run that time at the end of 2000m is freaky. Not a single horse in the world could beat her at such a distance.

And judging by the figures released by ratings guru Dan O’Sullivan on Monday, that is certainly the case. O’Sullivan posted a score of 116, beating the score of 115.5 set by Winx in her second Cox Plate victory.

So, is she going to compete for the Melbourne Cup?

“My mail is that she’s going to run… there’s no better mail than racetrack mail, but I think it makes sense that they’re holding on to her,” Irwin said.

“Obviously she has to be fit and have scans and everything that Racing Victoria does, but I believe she is going to run.

“It just adds an incredible element to the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup, which until recently seemed boring, has now become one of the great Cups.”

WATCH: Dot Com and The Den Mondays