Two dairy farmers’ sons from New Zealand and a billionaire Chinese coal miner have combined to win the $6 million Cox Plate in one of the greatest finishes in the race’s history, before punters ran onto the famous Moonee Valley turf and literally tore up the track.

The historic Valley course is earmarked for demolition before undergoing a $220 million facelift, which involves rebuilding the entire venue from the ground up.

Before fans spilled onto the track to souvenir patches of grass and pieces of the running rail, champion jockey James McDonald had to squeeze every inch of courage out of mare Via Sistina’s famed staying prowess to hold off stablemate Buckaroo by a nose to win the country’s premier weight-for-age event for the second year running.

“It was a sensational feeling ... h

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