Winx stays home for record run

WINX will be given the chance to eclipse Black Caviar’s record of 25 consecutive wins on home soil after trainer Chris Waller and connections yesterday ruled out an international campaign.

Winx will run in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on April 14 before being given the chance to win an unprecedented fourth Cox Plate in Melbourne in the spring.

Waller and Winx’s owners Peter Tighe, Debbie Kepitis and Richard Treweeke had been inundated with offers to run the mare overseas but the adoring Australian public won out over the potential risks of travelling and in the end, it was not a difficult decision to stay at home.

“We are firmly of the opinion the time for her to go overseas has come and gone,” Tighe said.

“She is a six-year-old mare, rising seven and we just don’t want to risk her with a longhaul flight and all the risks associated with that.”

Ladbrokes have Winx at $1.20 to win next month’s Queen Elizabeth Stakes and off the back of yesterday’s announcement, she firmed to $1.70 to win the Cox Plate for a fourth time.