Morning-suit crowd mourns Winx absence

With all the somber pomp and careful language of a royal proclamation, trainer Chris Waller announced this week that the ownership of the Australian superstar Winx, a winner of 24 straight races, has chosen not to send their 7-year-old mare to England for a race at the prestigious Royal Ascot meet in June.

“Winx has nothing to prove to anyone,” wrote Waller. “She is and always will be regarded as a legend of the turf and it is champions like her that make up the fabric of this great sport.”

There followed, as night follows the day, a headline in the Irish Times that declared the “Connections of Winx decide to duck Ascot challenge.” And, on the other side of the globe, a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald proclaimed, “Winx dodges Royal Ascot, chases fourth Cox Plate.”

So which is it, duck or dodge? Let’s go to Greg Wood of The Guardian for the tiebreaker:

“Away from her home turf, though, there was an inevitable sense that Winx’s connections had weighed up what would have undoubtedly been a demanding new challenge for their horse – and decided to duck it.” We have a winner. Such polite, thinly veiled suggestions of cowardice from the sporting press pander to the worst instincts of their readers, while perpetuating the idea that the media’s main function is to lobby for the latest bright, shiny thing being marketed beyond all reason.

Royal Ascot is that current bright, shiny thing, sold hard at home and abroad. I’ve never been, so I cannot speak to the incalculable joys of wearing rented clothing for five straight days, but I hear it’s a hoot, as well as a national institution of which British racing is rightfully proud.

It is not, however, the ultimate test of ability in the Thoroughbred racehorse. There is no such ultimate test, only a collection of evidence that must be weighed against time, and no single event should require participation when the primary athlete is an animal of odd moods and stubborn frailty. Even one that’s won 24 straight. Still, tweeters will tweet, unhappily it seems: ◗ “With all due respect – and incredibly so – they risk making Winx a sort of Aussie version of Peppers Pride. Tough as nails, defeats all challengers, hauled handicap weights, wasn’t defeated but also didn’t leave her restricted pond.”

◗ “I’ve had enuff. This horse hasn’t run against any real competition. And her not running @ Ascot says as much. #HighlyOverrated.”

◗ “Boring. This horse would finish up the track at Ascot or in any graded stake in North America. Guess the connections lack competitiveness and confidence, too bad.”

Similar accusations were hurled in the direction of Zenyatta’s people until she was narrowly beaten at Churchill Downs, after which everything was okay.

Predictably, the names of Frankel and Black Caviar were drawn into the Winx conversation. Frankel’s record of 14-0 stretched over three seasons worth of competition in England. Black Caviar won all 25 of her races, 24 in Australia and one – the Diamond Jubilee – in England. Wood, among others, tried to make the case that homegrown Frankel did not need to leave England to prove his worth because the competitive waters were so deep, while Aussie Black Caviar stamped herself as a worthy world champion by winning at Royal Ascot.

“… [H]orses from the smaller pond are the ones that need to travel to gild their reputations,” Wood wrote. “Black Caviar did just that in 2012, and Wednesday’s decision means that, no matter how many races she ends up winning, Winx will never match the achievements of her predecessor.”

The idea that Australia is a smaller pond than England in any regard, other than the consumption of pickled herring, is very much open to debate. Flag waving aside, this might be a good time to remind Winx skeptics of the toll taken on Black Caviar by her Royal Ascot experience.

To mitigate the effects of a 36-hour journey, the mare was fitted with a Lycra pressure wrap to regulate body temperature. Still, according to trainer Peter Moody, Black Caviar showed signs of stress from the long trip, and her condition was exacerbated by the deep going at Royal Ascot on race day. She won anyway, under a decidedly cautious ride by Luke Nolen, who took the blame to cover for his mare’s subpar performance. She emerged with a recurrence of significant muscle damage to her hindquarters and was through for the season.

One only needs to watch Chris Waller after a Winx performance to understand why he would not ask his mare a question like Royal Ascot at this stage of her life. His voice cracks. Tears flow. Unapologetic, he wipes his eyes and nose, a man in thrall to his fabulous mare.

Moody operates as an owner and breeder these days and pays regular visits to Black Caviar, now a mother of four. During a book tour last year selling his memoirs, he was asked repeatedly to judge the relative merits of the two national heroes.

“Why do we have to compare our great horses?” Moody said. “They are great for the sport and for the industry, so why don’t we just enjoy them. If you’re nostalgic pull out a video of Black Caviar. If you’re a realist get to the races and watch Winx.”

She runs next on April 14. In Australia.