Winx up against bigger field
AN equine traffic jam and not a barrier mishap is the biggest threat to Winx’s famous winning streak at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Champion mare Winx’s presence in the weight- for- age Group 2 $ 250,000 Chelmsford Stakes ( 1600m) hasn’t deterred the connections of another 15 runners from nominating for the race.
Winx has won her last 18 races in succession with 10 of those wins coming in Sydney weight- for- age races.
In those Sydney weight- forage wins, she has met an average of eight rivals, with the biggest field size of 12 runners.
If all the Chelmsford entries accept for Saturday’s race, then this would be the biggest field Winx has ever contested. She won the 2015 Doncaster Mile against 14 opponents.
Winx goes into the Chelmsford Stakes after her memorable comeback win in the Warwick Stakes where she blew the start by four lengths yet still unleashed an irresistible late surge to run down stablemate Foxplay on the line.
Trainer Chris Waller has been given stewards’ approval to use ear muffs on Winx in an endeavour to prevent the great mare from missing the start again.
“It ( ear muffs) just helps to block out the background noise,’’ Waller said at Rosehill last Saturday.
“She’ll still hear Hugh Bowman say ‘ it’s time to go’.
“She wears ear muffs when she works and when she para- des before they come off prior to the start. This time they will stay on for the race.’’
Despite the surprisingly large number of Chelmsford entries, Winx is likely to start at the shortest price of her celebrated career as TAB Fixed Odds has already posted the great mare at $ 1.06 in early betting with Foxplay next at $ 15 then it is $ 26 the field.
The shortest odds offered about Winx so far is the $ 1.09 bookies bet prior to her George Main Stakes win last year.
But Winx will almost certainly start at shorter odds on Saturday as Foxplay is an unlikely Chelmsford runner.
Waller has hinted Foxplay could contest the Group 2 $ 200,000 Tramway Stakes ( 1400m) on Saturday or be reserved for Rosehill next week.