Winx in a league of her own
SYDNEY: Winx has done what no other horse has done before — win 20 group 1 races — and made it look easy.
In a carbon copy of most of her races, Winx skirted the field at the 600m to launch herself down the straight to win Saturday’s George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick by four lengths from Le Romain.
‘‘I know when I balance her up, I’ve got four or five lengths,’’ jockey Hugh Bowman said.
‘‘Le Romain ran a hell of a race and at the corner, I didn’t feel in danger, but I didn’t feel like she was going to be as dominant as she usually is.
‘‘But when that turbo kicked into gear at the 250 metres it was all over.’’
It was Winx’s 27th consecutive win and also added another string to her bow as her 29th stakes victory to claim an Australasian record previously held by New Zealand mare Sunline.
For trainer Chris Waller, it was again a case of relief mixed with pride.
‘‘If you expect to win races at
the 300 metre mark every time you’ll probably come off secondbest,’’ he said.
‘‘But Hughey, he knew he had that extra 10% we see every start. It gets her out of a lot of trouble and that’s why this winning sequence continues.
‘‘She’s got some gears. It keeps going to a new level every time. She’s a superstar.’’
Waller would not commit to Winx’s next start.
‘‘We’ll see how she pulls up. We are thinking about a [fourth] Cox Plate, obviously, and the best way to get her there is to take one run at a time,’’ he said.
‘‘I’d say it would be in Melbourne.’’
Waller operates the biggest stable in Sydney but never dreamed of one like Winx.
‘‘To have 27 races you have to have quite intense work 27 times. You’ve got to bring a horse to the races 27 times. You’ve got to go home safely 27 times. That’s quite remarkable.
‘‘It’s only her exceptional skill that allows it to happen, because it’s impossible what she’s doing. It’s just heroic stuff.’’