Second place is near enough
THE Chelmsford Stakes is all but over. The trainer of the only horse given any chance of knocking off Winx is just hoping he gets within six lengths of the great mare.
Winx opened as $1.06 favourite for the Chelmsford Stakes after the final field was declared yesterday and she will jump from barrier three as she bids to extend her winning streak to 19.
She will face 11 rivals in the Group 2 feature (1600m) at Randwick on Saturday, which is more than her past four starts. But if anything the race is an easier assignment than the Warwick Stakes a fortnight ago.
Last-start Doomben Cup winner Sense Of Occasion ($21) is the only horse rated under $30 in the market and his trainer Kris Lees concedes he is running for second.
“He got within 5.7 lengths of her last time we raced and I think it will be around that again,” Lees said.
“And if that’s good enough to run second, so be it. It all depends and I don’t think [jockey Hugh Bowman] will have to be as aggressive as he was last time, so I will say [we will get within] six lengths of her.”
Sense Of Occasion’s past two fresh runs over the mile have been outstanding and Lees said he would be confident if Winx wasn’t in the race.
“It was always the race we intended to resume in, and I considered the Tramway, but I think he is more effective at a mile,” he said.
“Any other year I think we would go in with a bit of confidence in a Chelmsford Stakes.
“You just have to ride your own race and whatever happens, happens. We’re not expecting him to win but we’re expecting him to race well.”
Winx will cap off her preparations with a regular gallop at Rosehill this morning. Australia’s star of the turf has come through her first-up run in super fashion, which is a relief considering her amazing Warwick Stakes performance could have left her flat.
Winx, who will wear earmuffs for the first time in the Chelmsford Stakes, missed the start by four lengths in the Warwick Stakes and had to be asked for a supreme effort to reel in a gallant Foxplay down the straight.
Foxplay did not accept for the Chelmsford Stakes, and Warwick Stakes third placegetter Ecuador will instead run in the Tramway Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.