Winx confirmed to race at Flemington

Winx will race at Flemington for the first time in her illustrious career after trainer Chris Waller opted for the Turnbull Stakes as the mare’s next start, delivering a huge blow to Sydney’s inaugural staging of The Everest next month.

Waller and Winx’s owners confirmed yesterday the six-year-old, which has won 20 straight races, would head to Melbourne for the Group I Turnbull Stakes on October 7 as her final run before a tilt at winning a third Cox Plate.

While stabled at Waller’s Flemington base for each of her last two Cox Plate preparations, the mare had never actually started in a race at Flemington, arguably Australia’s greatest racetrack.

But the three-week gap before the Cox Plate appears a perfect scenario for Waller, who was widely understood to be leaning towards running Winx in a heavily inflated Craven Plate to complement the inaugural running of the $10 million Everest at Randwick a week later.

Waller will also remove Winx’s ear muffs for the Turnbull Stakes after applying the gear for her past two wins – the Chelmsford Stakes and George Main Stakes – having blundered at the start of the Warwick Stakes in her first run of the campaign.

‘‘The sole reason for running [in the Turnbull Stakes] as the most likely option is simply based on the timing of the current program, which will provide her with three weeks between runs from the George Main to the Turnbull and another three weeks into the Cox Plate for her fifth run of the campaign,’’ Waller said.

‘‘Whilst this is her intended path, if she was not to run in the Turnbull it would be my intention to run in the Craven Plate on October 14 at Royal Randwick before heading to Melbourne in preparation for the Ladbrokes Cox Plate.

‘‘As has always been the case, I will continue to be guided by the horse and what I feel is best for her when planning her racing preparations.

‘‘I am very mindful of how well received she is each time she races, however her longevity is of the utmost importance and this is evident by the limited racing she does each preparation.’’