Winx’s extended family

Even as the expectation and her entourage has grown, the excitement around Winx remains the same for owner Debbie Kepitis as her champion mare attempts to win a third Cox Plate on Saturday.

There will more than 100 people in the Winx camp as she shoots for her 22nd consecutive win at Moonee Valley, a far cry from the dozen or so that were there when she won the Australasian weight-for-age championship in 2015.

‘‘She is the best mare in the world and as we have gone on this wonderful journey, more and more people have joined us,’’ Kepitis said.

‘‘Winx is a once-in-a-lifetime horse and you want to share it with your family.

’’All my family have been coming for about the last year, there are about 15 of them.

‘‘These are memories and times you want to share.

‘‘It is good to have Chris [Waller’s] and Hugh [Bowman’s] wives and family there because we know we won’t get another Winx.’’

The profile of Winx has extended beyond racing as she has stretched her unbeaten run to more than two years.

It has seen the group of friends and well-wishers around owners Kepitis, Peter Tighe and Richard Treweeke increase.

If she wins as expected on Saturday, Winx will join Kingston Town as a three-time Cox Plate winner, pass Makybe Diva as the highest prizemoneyearner in Australian racing and match Black Caviar’s remarkable tally of 15 group 1 victories.