WINX A STEP AHEAD
WINX is smarter than the average racehorse, jockey Hugh Bowman has revealed in a unique insight into the superstar mare.
The seven-year-old will on Saturday embark on her tilt at a historic fourth straight Cox Plate at the Valley with Bowman yesterday revealing the personality that makes the mare so special.
Bowman, who will attempt to steer Winx to a 29thstraight victory, delivered a first-hand account of the intel- ligence of one of his closest and longest equine allies.
“She’s very uncomplicated,” he said.
“She’s very straightforward. What I loved about (yesterday morning’s gallop) … when I cantered off in front of the crowd, she was very relaxed.
“When we got to the 1200m mark, she knew where that was and she knew I was going to let her go a bit quicker.
“And before I let her, she took me quicker. All the signs are there … she’s a very intelligent individual.”
He doesn’t talk to her much, and it’s taken some time for Bowman to work her and her certain mannerisms out under him.
He said Winx’s strapper, Umut Odemislioglu, had noted the mare’s smarts when putting her through her paces in the pool at her home base at Rosehill.
“Even he said ‘when I swim her … and they have a lead on both sides, when she gets to the end of the pool, she puts her head to one side to get one lead off and then (the other)’.
“Just little idiosyncrasies, I guess.”
MUSWELLBROOK