Wonder horse wings it
Winx wows crowd
IT’S all systems go for Winx and her assault on a recordequalling third Cox Plate after an impressive workout in front of an appreciative crowd at Moonee Valley yesterday.
The champion mare brought a large crowd to Breakfast With The Best to see her go through her paces ahead of Saturday’s $3 million weight-for-age championship.
Trainer Chris Waller said he had had some concerns on Monday night about how the crowd would react as Winx made her way on to the track for her gallop as the first of 48 horses to work.
But as Winx came up the Moonee Valley straight the crowd played it cool.
“Everyone was very polite, which was fantastic,” Waller said. “It was a very serious piece of work this morning and you can’t have anything go wrong at this late stage.
“As she came up the straight you could have heard a pin drop.
“It was quite eerie but very humbling to see all the people here this morning for her.”
Waller was happy to see Winx off the track and back to her stable as she prepares to extend her winning sequence to 22 on end.
He said this being her “grand final week” the work was all but complete and importantly he and jockey Hugh Bowman were happy.
“The beauty of Winx is she makes our job easier,” he said. “She’s an absolute professional and what you see on race day is what you see every day of the week with her.”
Bowman is trying not to think too much about Saturday’s race. He has been aboard the mare in 19 of her 21 consecutive wins, including her Cox Plate successes.
Bowman has four rides at Geelong today with another meeting at Moonee Valley on Friday night to concern himself with before Cox Plate day.
“I haven’t given it much thought until now,” he said.
“Now that the field is there and the barrier draw has been done I’ll be able to go through different scenarios of how I think the race might unfold and where I might like to be.
“But until we get here on race day and see how conditions are I won’t get too tied down in exactly what I’m going to do.
“But ultimately I’ll just let her be where she’s comfortable anyway, and as much thought as I do put into it will probably all go out the window anyway when the gates open.”