Nearly seven years ago, the great American racemare Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) saw her win streak snapped at 20 while she attempted to go out unbeaten in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, missing out by a nose after unleashing a furious rally from last. Street Cry's latest superstar, Winx (Aus), suffered no such heartbreak at Randwick on Saturday, notching her 20th consecutive win in the G1 Colgate Optic White (George Main) S., but like Zenyatta, Winx gave her backers a few anxious moments when she appeared to be under a hard ride with plenty still to do 600 metres out. The 6-year-old mare got rolling under Hugh Bowman approaching the 200, however, and drew clear to win by an eased-down 1.3 lengths from Happy Clapper (Aus) (Teofilo {Ire}). Winx's stablemate Foxplay (Aus) (Foxwedge {Aus}), who was second to the great mare first-up in the G2 Warwick S. a month ago, filled third, with their trainer Chris Waller's runners also filling the next two slots.
Saturday, Randwick, Australia
COLGATE OPTIC WHITE S. (George Main S.)-G1, A$490,000, ATC, 9-16, 3yo/up, Open Weight For Age, 1600mT, 1:33.65, Good.
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$292,000. Lifetime Record: Horse of the Year, Ch.
Middle Distance, Grass & Older Horse-Aus, 30-24-3-0,
A$13,475,425. *1/2 to El Divino (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), GSW-Aus,
A$189,860. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Happy Clapper, 59.0, g, 7, Teofilo (Ire)–Busking, by Encosta
de Lago. O-M W Thomas; B-Mr M Thomas ACT; T-P J Webster;
J-B Shinn; A$94,000.
3–Foxplay, 56.5, f, 4, Foxwedge–Butters (USA), by El Prado (Ire).
(A$160,000 Ylg 2015 MM Gold Coast Yearling Sale) O-Mrs C M
Cook, Mrs J L Van Buynder, Mrs T A Schwanke, Mrs M K Mc
Leish, Mrs R A Glasgow, Mrs M Wood, Mrs H A Aurisch, Mrs T
G Johnston, Ms R E Crane, Ms K M Wood & Boeara Holdings;
B-S F Bloodstock LLC NSW; T-C J Waller; J-B Avdulla; A$49,500.
Margins: 1.3 len, 5.8 len, 7.6 len. Odds: 0.11, 14.00, 20.00.
Also Ran: McCreery (GB), Mackintosh (NZ), Heavens Above, Red Excitement, Ecuador (NZ).
Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
Winx has now gone one better than Zenyatta and she is getting ever closer to the record of the other modern great Australian mare, Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}), who was unbeaten in 25 career starts in sprint company. Winx's streak, which began in the May 2015 G3 Gold Coast Guineas, has now encompassed 13 Group 1s, including two Cox Plates, a Doncaster Mile and a Queen Elizabeth S., and she has given her backers heart palpitations in each of her tries this term. After missing the break by four lengths in the G2 Warwick S. on Aug. 19, she circled the field down the stretch and just got up to nip Foxplay by a nose. Two weeks later a tactical mid-race move by Red Excitement (Aus) (Excites {Aus}) in the G2 Chelmsford S. caused another dramatic finish, but Winx again didn't disappoint her fans, getting up by a length.
Breaking near the back but not detached from the field on Saturday, Winx and Hugh Bowman raced on their own about eight lengths off the pace once again set by Red Excitement, with Foxplay and Happy Clapper in her sights, those racing about four and six lengths, respectively, off the pace. Bowman was visually scrubbing on Winx as the field turned into the straight and she briefly slipped back to last, and he went to the whip passing the 300. The mare began to roll thereafter, however, and with one more slap approaching the 100, she overtook Happy Clapper and won under wraps.
Referring to the trainers of the great Phar Lap and Black Caviar, Waller said post-race, “I can't get hold of Harry Telford; Peter Moody I can and he just says what they do is just amazing. The beauty of a horse like Winx is I don't have experience with these types of horses. I think we've got to enjoy it, not analyze it too much. We've got to try and enjoy the moment. It's very special.”
Waller said he wasn't concerned about the effort Winx needed to get up to win. “I'm not too worried about how she was travelling in the race. True champions they normally come out and win. They get beat too. We have to respect that and they can bounce back as well. She is on track for some big races this preparation. It's great Sydney have embraced her.”
Part owner Peter Tighe was on hand, and he said, “I think she could be anything she wants to be, the world is her oyster that's for sure. She turns a bad run into a good run very quickly and puts good horses away. It's just an honour [to own her], you can't dream of things like this. It's just a great ride for everyone.”
The next record Winx will target will be the three Cox Plate wins of Kingston Town. She is expected to have one more run before that Oct. 28 feature, likely in the G3 Craven Plate at Randwick on Everest day Oct. 14.
Pedigree Notes…
Winx is the second foal out of the dual New Zealand stakes winner Vegas Showgirl, who fittingly produced an Exceed and Excel (Aus) filly at Segenhoe Stud for breeder John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds on Saturday. That one follows a Snitzel filly foaled last year. Vegas Showgirl has also produced the 'TDN Rising Star' and G3 Kindergarten S. winner El Divino (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}). That one's full-brother, which topped the 2016 Inglis Easter yearling sale at A$2.3-million, is another highly anticipated runner for the mare. In training with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, the newly turned 3-year-old is named Boulder City (Aus).
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