Fast forward two decades, and Cox will have his first New Zealand Cup drive today behind Brilliant Strike - against Il Vicolo's winning driver, Mark Purdon.
Cox (31) watched a few New Zealand Cups on television growing up in Southland, but Il Vicolo's 1995 win is the first one to stick in the memory for another reason.
''Straight after the race, Dad took me out and I had my first fastwork drive,'' Cox said.
''I will never forget that day. I would have seen cups before that, but I never really took much notice.
''Il Vicolo was a good horse in his own right then I got to drive a horse for the first time so it was a good day.''
Cox teams up with Brilliant Strike for this year's renewal of the classic pacing race.
Neither horse nor driver has lined up in the much-anticipated race 10 on the second Tuesday in November, but Cox can call on some big race-day experience with Jaccka Justy's Dominion win this time last year.
''I tend to get a bit nervous but when it came to driving in the Dominion, I don't know what it was, but I didn't really feel anything.
''The horse was more relaxed than anything, which helped. Brilliant Strike is a similar sort of horse - he doesn't get wound up too much. We've drawn the outside but Justy was on the unruly last year. It's only a bad draw after the race.''
The drive behind Brilliant Strike came after Cox drove several horses in Southland for trainer Paul Court last season, and the relationship strengthened when Cox moved to Canterbury earlier this year.
A mixed build-up ended on a solid note with Brilliant Strike's fifth in the Kaikoura Cup.
''Paul has always been confident he would see the two miles [3200m] out and he was one of the last ones to pull up at Kaikoura,'' Cox said.
''We probably got the last Cup spot available, but we're in the field, so we're half a chance. The harder the go, the better he will love it on Tuesday.''
