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The consistent Folkswood gets thrown in the deep end of Saturday’s Cox Plate at Moonee Valley fresh off his first stakes win.

Folkswood is a four-year-old gelding by Exceed And Excel out of a Galileo mare, who is raced by Godolphin and trained by Charlie Appleby.

The Exceed And Excel four-year-old has successfully made the jump to Group level in 2017 having placed in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta prior to a pair of Group 3 placings.

He made his debut as a two-year-old in 2015 over 1400m in a Newmarket maiden and ran well for third, then broke his maiden next outing at Goodwood three weeks later running over 1400m again and similar G>F ground.

He was put away until the following April when he won a 3yo Handicap at Newmarket over 1600m on G>S.

Folkswood’s talent was clearly evident by then with the gelding returning a new master Timeform rating of 110+.

Next up was a 1600m at Royal Ascot on soft where he was 8/18 and then back to Ascot in July for a 3 of 13 finish on G>F, and he ended that prep with a second at Yarmouth in August over 2000m, again with G>F ground.

Folkswood was taken to Dubai early in his four-year-old season and in February at his second Meydan run he won decisively over 1800m on fast ground.

Three weeks later on March 4 he ran second to Decorated Knight in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta (1800m).

Both performances returned Timeform ratings of 121.

Back in the UK he went to Newmarket on April 19 where he ran second over 1800m on G>F in the Group 3 Earl Of Sefton Stakes behind Calderon.

Another Group 3 placing followed in the Huxley Stakes at Chester over 2000m where he was third of six.

Folkswood’s final run prior to embarking on an Australian prep was in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes at Epsom on June 3 where he finished fifth to Sovereign Debt.

Looks as if he is like his sire in preferring the faster ground, and showed that in his first-up Australia win contesting the Cranbourne Cup, assessed at 119.