ALL THE FORM FOR COX PLATE DAY
Trainer says Winx a rising superstar
CHRIS Waller says Winx is on the cusp of becoming a superstar in a Cox Plate that could debunk The Cleaner’s front-running style as a myth.
Speaking at his Flemington stables yesterday, Waller was reluctant to split his three runners in the Moonee Valley weight-for-age classic tomorrow but said his fouryear-old mare had special qualities.
“I can make a case to say that Winx just could be a superstar,” Waller said.
“That’s the reason Hugh Bowman is riding her over Preferment.
“What she’s done in her last four wins, in Queensland and Sydney, has been phenomenal – she’s overcome problems which you can’t do in Group 1 races and she hasn’t only won, but she’s won with ease.”
Waller was also quick to challenge The Cleaner’s perceived front-running dominance.
He said the Tasmanian galloper “gets away with some pretty soft sectionals” in the middle stages of a race and starts to build speed only from the “1000m mark, which is your classic Cox Plate”.
“Any horse that lets him go through the mid-stages and thinks they are going to make up six or seven lengths from back in the field, I think they’ll be kidding themselves,” Waller said.
“So I think there will be a lot more pressure than what people think through the middle of the race and possibly even the start of the race – there might be a few challengers to The Cleaner.”
Waller said Winx should enjoy a “soft run” from the inside barrier.
“Yes, she will need luck to get out, but she just shows that devastating turn of foot,” he said.
“Over 2040m in a Cox Plate it might take the edge off her but when she’s getting a soft run I’m sure she will still have it.”
Despite Kermadec not having won at the Cox Plate distance, Waller said the four-year-old stallion was a “tough 2000m horse and had a little bit more stamina than Winx”.
He said 2014 VRC Derby winner Preferment was more of a stayer and “hopefully a Melbourne Cup horse after the Cox Plate”.
“I think I know my horses better in this day and age – better than I would have when I only had one chance to look at them every morning.”
He says he can compare track gallops with past preparations to see if a horse has improved.
So when he makes such a comment about Criterion heading into the Cox Plate tomorrow, it is worth taking note.
Hayes said the five-year-old stallion had improved since his last-start win in the Caulfield Stakes – form that has been franked by third placegetter Mongolian Khan winning the Caulfield Cup last weekend.
“If you watch the replay, Criterion was holding him on the line and that was his third run and we were first-up,” Hayes said.
“He’s a horse that can make a long sustained run and what I loved about the Caulfield Stakes was his last 600m was better than any other race on the day.”
Dabernig says Criterion and Sovereign Nation are the stable’s best chances.