Stellar Winx Makes It 'Apollo 14'

Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}} reaffirmed her status as the world's best turf runner with another commanding display in the G2 The Star Apollo S. at a rescheduled Randwick Racecourse on Monday. The Chris Waller trained 5-year-old was making it 14 wins in a row, equaling a feat achieved by the great Phar Lap. The 1/7 favourite was partnered by regular jockey Hugh Bowman and the rider appeared to have little or no anxious moments on the mare as she showed her usual class to beat old rival Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {GB}) by two and three quarter lengths with her stable-mate Endless Drama (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) a further four lengths behind in third. Settled in mid-pack early on in the 1400m contest Winx improved to track the pace as they approached the turn in. At that stage Endless Drama had taken over but he had only just wrestled the advantage from Shiraz (Aus) (Zariz {Aus} when Winx responded to a squeeze from Bowman to surge alongside and quickly stride clear. It was left to Hartnell to pick up the pieces but he was never going to bother Winx who was in a league of her own.

“It was a genuinely run 1400m race and I was able to travel really comfortably throughout,” Bowman said afterwards. “When the sprint came on at the 600-metre mark, she was left flat-footed for four strides and if I was on anything else I might have been worried but I just encouraged her to get on to the heels of the leaders and in the blink of an eye it was all over. She is great for our industry and its just great to be a part of it.” Bowman continued, “Chris has done a great job to get her here in shape to perform at this level. It's a fine balancing act to get her forward enough to win but to still have improvement in her as the season develops.” Waller was relieved more than anything as at this stage Winx has such a public following that it adds even more pressure to keep her winning streak intact. “We know where she is now and she should continue to improve through the autumn,” he said.