Experts reckon Winx would give Cup a shake
IT is the question that intrigues many race fans – could Winx win a Melbourne Cup?
The nation’s great race will be run without Winx at Flemington today, the mighty mare enjoying a well-deserved spell after annexing her third successive Cox Plate this spring.
Winx is on a famous 22-race winning streak that stretches nearly three years and includes 15 Group 1 races.
But the champion mare has never been entered for a Melbourne Cup and probably never will be.
She hasn’t raced beyond 2200m in her career and it is unlikely she will ever be trained for a stamina-sapping 3200m race.
Form guru Mark Morrissey believes Irish stayer Johannes Vermeer will win today’s big race but is convinced Winx would have his measure.
“Winx is every bit as good as Makybe Diva, or better, and could win a Melbourne Cup,’ Morrissey said.
“But I will qualify that statement though because if she, hypothetically, was to be set for a Melbourne Cup I doubt she could maintain her unbeaten record.
“The sacrifice for that ambition could be defeats in the shorter lead up races.
“I say this because she may need that high cruising speed trained out of her if she’s to run the two miles – but I’m sure Chris Waller would disagree with me on that point.’’
Fellow bookie Robbie Waterhouse, who is married to Cup-winning trainer Gai, believes Winx would win.
“If Gai’s father, TJ Smith trained her, she’d start in the Cup and win,” he said.