Winx eyeing records
SYDNEY’S super mare Winx is bigger and stronger, retains her enthusiasm for racing and has a fierce determination to win.
So what chance have her rivals of beating her in the Group 2 $250,000 Bob Ingham Warwick Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick tomorrow?
If the betting markets are any indication, her seven opponents are racing for second placing as Winx is at prohibitive odds of $1.08.
This is hardly surprising as Winx has been unbeatable for more than two years, winning 17 races in succession.
Winx is chasing down some of racing’s most revered records with every start. If she extends her long winning streak at Royal Randwick tomorrow, her achievements will include:
She will take her prizemoney over the $13 million barrier, second only to Makybe Diva ($14.52 million); her 18th consecutive win will equal Ajax’s record and leaves her trailing only Black Caviar (25 wins), Gloaming and Desert Gold (19 wins each) for most wins in succession; and she will become the first mare since Tarien (1953-54) to win successive Warwick Stakes.
Trainer Chris Waller would not be drawn on whether Winx has improved – how can you improve on perfection? – but said the mare is physically at the peak of her powers.
“She is 7-8kg heavier than she was in the autumn,’’ Waller said. “As a mature horse now she has put on a bit of extra weight but she has turned it into muscle, and it looks to be an asset to her. It’s not a matter of asking her to improve at this stage in her career, it’s just a matter of maintaining her.’’
Waller watched intently as race jockey Hugh Bowman put the mighty mare through her paces wide out on the course proper at Rosehill trackwork yesterday morning.
Before a large group of media, and Winx’s owners Peter Tighe and Debbie Keptiis, Winx produced a piece of work that had Waller and Bowman eagerly looking forward to the mare’s comeback in the Warwick Stakes.
“She is exactly where we want her to be and each preparation has been a little bit different, but quite remarkably she seems to be getting a little bit bigger and stronger,’’ Waller said.