TRAINER HINTS WINX’S RETIREMENT MAY BE ON THE CARDS
Speculation that star mare may retire after Queen Elizabeth Stakes
TRAINER Chris Waller has given a strong hint that champion mare Winx will have her racing swansong in Sydney next autumn.
Waller won’t nominate a race but there is speculation Winx will be retired after contesting the Group 1 $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes during The Championships at Royal Randwick on April 13.
Winx scored a famous fourth consecutive win in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley last Saturday but it now appears very unlikely the great mare will still be in training to contest the race for a fifth time next spring.
Waller would not be drawn on future plans for Winx until the mighty mare undergoes a thorough veterinary examination before spelling, and he has an opportunity to discuss all the options with her owners, Debbie Kepitis, Richard Treweeke and Peter Tighe.
Winx is a seven-year-old mare and seems to be racing as well as ever but Waller is also very aware that inevitably time will eventually catch up with her.
“I would say we will have to intervene at some stage and label a race as her last race,” Waller said yesterday.
“I have no idea where it would be. I would love it to be a certain race towards the end of the carnival and The Championships but I dare not say that.
“It is not fair on the horse and the people that start betting on these races because we could pull the pin on any stage.
“Even people booking long range flights and those coming from the country to watch her, it’s not fair to get them all hyped up for another preparation and then we pull the pin.
“It would be great to label a day – we will give it plenty of thought.”
Waller tends to stick to what works with Winx and in recent years he has followed a similar race preparation during Sydney autumn carnivals.
So, if Winx was to continue racing next season, it is likely she will resume in either the Apollo Stakes (1400m) or the Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m), then go to the George Ryder Stakes (1500m) before the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Winx has won three Chipping Nortons and three George Ryders in succession and the last two Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Winx’s greatness is defined by her longevity. She has won 29 races in succession, 33 in total, has been unbeatable for more than three years, claimed a world record 22 Group 1 wins and amassed $22.9 million prizemoney – simply staggering statistics.
But her extraordinary record is even more remarkable because she has achieved such wonderful consistency without steroids, which were in widespread use in Australian racing until they were banned about 30 years ago, and assisted a horse to cope and recover from racing and training.
Waller’s expert management of Winx has given her race career longevity but the trainer is quick to deflect any praise.
“Winx makes us all look good,” Waller said.
“Realistically, we are the only ones that can bugger it up but we don’t have to make her run faster.
“Most horses you are trying to squeeze the extra 2 per cent out of them but with Winx we don’t need to do that.”