The world number one mare Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) made a seamless return to the races on Saturday, kicking off her autumn campaign with a facile seven-length score in Randwick's G1 Chipping Norton S. Making her first start back since her historic third win in the G1 Cox Plate on Oct. 28, Winx was last from the gates under Hugh Bowman and was about seven lengths off the lead after the opening furlong. Bowman was still sitting chilly at the halfway point of the mile contest, and as they passed the 600 metre mark the mare began to make up ground, circling runners under a hold while up to five wide coming off the turn. The great mare had moved within two lengths of the lead without being asked as they straightened for home, and she took off when Bowman shook the reins passing the 300, drawing off to win under wraps from the Group 1-winning colt Prized Icon (Aus) (More Than Ready). The win was Winx's 16th at Group 1 level, taking her one past the great sprinting mare Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}). It was also Winx's 23rd consecutive win. Black Caviar won 25 times in her unbeaten career.
“To see her come back like this is pretty special,” trainer Chris Waller told Racing NSW. “She is a great horse and her attitude is fantastic. She is better now than she was as a 4-year-old and not much has changed since. She knows her job, enjoys her job and is going home to just be another horse.”
“It's unbelievable,” Waller added. “It's a real privilege to be representing our sport.”
Of Winx's superiority, Bowman added, “I feel it at trackwork but because there are no horses around me, it's hard to get a sense of just how much she is quickening. It was like I was in the middle on the track, all on my own, me and her with 20,000 people enjoying it.”
“I enjoyed it today, I was very comfortable going into the race,” he added. “She pulled a bit at the start and some of her better performances have been when she has done that. What can I say, it's there for everyone to see.”
When Winx's owners Debbie Kepitis, Peter Tighe and Richard Treweeke shelled out A$230,000 for a plain bay yearling filly at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January of 2013, they likely could have only dreamed that she would four years later be Australia's richest racehorse, a measure she achieved after winning last year's Cox Plate.
Fast forward to May 16, 2015, and Winx was winning the fifth of her first 11 starts when taking the G3 Sunshine Coast Guineas. While that black-type certainly boosted her value, connections likely didn't imagine that was the starting point of a historic win streak that has since gone on to encompass three Cox Plates, three Chipping Nortons, two G1 George Ryders', a G1 Epsom H., a G1 Doncaster H. and a G1 Queen Elizabeth S. Winx's next stop is an attempt at a three-peat in the George Ryder at Rosehill on Mar. 24. There has been plenty of pressure on connections to take the mare overseas to Royal Ascot in June, but they have insisted a decision will not be made until after the George Ryder. As for that next outing, where Winx will drop back down to 1500 metres at Rosehill, Waller said, “We've got a few lengths up our sleeve and the 1500 metres second up is no concern in three weeks' time. Who knows what happens after that.”
Pedigree Notes…
Winx is the second foal out of Vegas Showgirl, who was crowned champion broodmare of 2016 after her exploits were also boosted by El Divino (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), who became a 'TDN Rising Star' with a debut win before dead-heating for the victory in the G3 Kindergarten S. at The Championships on the same day that Winx won the Doncaster three years ago. That week was an especially fruitful one for John Camilleri's Vegas Showgirl; a few days later her then yearling Snitzel colt, now named Boulder City (Aus) and in training with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, topped the Inglis Easter yearling sale at A$2.3-million. Vegas Showgirl has a yearling filly by Snitzel (Aus) and a filly foal by Exceed and Excel (Aus). Click for the free Arion.co.nz catalogue-style pedigree.
Saturday, Randwick, Australia
CHIPPING NORTON S.-G1, A$587,000, ATC, 3yo/up, Open Weight For Age, 1600mT, 1:34.92, Soft.
1–WINX, 57.0, m, 6, by Street Cry (IRE)
1st Dam: Vegas Showgirl (NZ) (MSW & GSP-NZ, NZ$172,062), by Al Akbar
2nd Dam: Vegas Magic, by Voodoo Rhythm (USA)
3rd Dam: Vegas Street (NZ), by Sovereign Edition (IRE)
(A$230,000 Ylg 2013 MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale) O-Magic
Bloodstock Racing (Mgr: P G Tighe), R G Treweeke & Mrs D N
Kepitis; B-Fairway Thoroughbreds NSW; T-C J Waller;
J-J Bowman; A$349,000. Lifetime Record: 33-27-3-0,
A$15,976,925. *1/2 to El Divino (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), GSW-Aus,
A$192,260. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Prized Icon, 59.0, h, 4, More Than Ready–Tropical Affair, by
Danehill (USA). O-Gooree Stud (Mgr: E M Cojuangco);
B-Gooree Park Stud Pty Ltd NSW; T-K A Lees; J-G Schofield;
A$114,000.
3–Classic Uniform, 59.0, g, 5, Al Maher–Pyrotechnics, by Canny
Lad. (A$170,000 Ylg 2014 WI Sydney Easter Yearling Sale)
O-Glenvallen Investments Pty Ltd Syndicate (Mgr: F L Li);
B-Emirates Park Pty Ltd NSW; T-G W Moore; J-A Adkins;
A$58,000.
Margins: 7.0 len, 7.5 len, 8.5 len. Odds: 0.09, 15.00, 50.00.
Also Ran: Libran (IRE), Stampede, Who Shot Thebarman (NZ), Lasqueti Spirit, Vinland, Jemadar. Click for the Racing Post result. VIDEO.
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