At $1.09, Australia's latest racing sensation, Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), was sent off the shortest-priced favourite in a Sydney Group 1 this century, and the 5-year-old mare performed just as her odds suggested she should, looping her five opponents to extend her current win streak to 11. Winx was collecting her seventh Group 1 in the process, and pushed her bankroll past the A$7-million barrier.
Last away from the gates, Winx promptly passed stablemate Spiritjim (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) to sit on the rail about seven lengths off the lead under Hugh Bowman. Bowman, still sitting chilly at the 700-metre mark, guided Winx four-wide as the field swung off the turn. Cruising up to confront the leaders at the 300-metre mark under her motionless rider, the bay needed only a shake of the reins to put away Hauraki (Aus) (Reset {Aus}) with 150 metres to go, running out a 1.3-length winner under wraps.
Saturday, Randwick, Australia
GEORGE MAIN S.-G1, A$505,000, ATC, 9-17, 3yo/up, Open Weight For Age, 1600mT, 1:36.18, Good.
1–WINX, 57.0, m, 5, by Street Cry (Ire)
1st Dam: Vegas Showgirl (NZ), 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$305,000. Lifetime Record: 21-15-3-0,
A$7,135,425. *1/2 to El Divino (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), GSW-Aus,
$132,775. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hauraki, 59.0, g, 5, Reset–Youthful Presence, by Dehere
(USA). O-Godolphin; B-Darley NSW; T-J A O'Shea; J-J B Mc
Donald; A$100,000.
3–It's Somewhat (USA), 59.0, g, 5, Dynaformer (USA)–
Sometime (IRE), by Royal Academy (USA). O-Godolphin; B-BP
Walden Jr, PW Madden Et Al, USA; T-J A O'Shea; J-Tim Clark;
A$50,000.
Margins: 1.3 len, 4.6 len, 4.8 len. Odds: 0.09, 13.00, 30.00.
Also Ran: Vanbrugh, Spiritjim (FR), Great Esteem.
Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.
A A$230,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling purchase, Winx was not seen until June of her juvenile year, but racked up two straight wins that term and kept the streak alive with a score in the G2 Furious S. first-up at three. Beaten in her four subsequent outings, the bay rebounded, incidentally, with a victory over Hauraki in the G2 Phar Lap S. last March. Again beaten in her next two tries, Winx added another black-type win in the G3 Sunshine Coast Guineas in May of that year, which would kick off her current win streak. She was put away for the winter after notching her first Group 1 in the Queensland Oaks two weeks later, and kicked off her 4-year-old campaign with a G2 Theo Marks S. score before reeling off ultra-impressive wins in the G1 Epsom H. and G1 Cox Plate. Resuming with a win in the G2 Apollo S. last season, she then sauntered to scores in the G1 Chipping Norton S. and G1 George Ryder S. before solidifying her superstar status with a facile tally in the A$3-million G1 Doncaster Mile at The Championships in April.
Given a much-deserved winter holiday, Winx made light work of the G2 Warwick S. first-up Aug. 20, but was scratched from her next intended assignment, the G2 Chelmsford S., Sept. 3 after persistent rain bogged down the track. The Chelmsford winner, Hartnell (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), returned to win the G2 Trophies Hill S. by almost six lengths earlier on the George Main card, but it was undoubtedly Winx who stole the show as she matched the win streak of the great Kingston Town, in the process edging three wins shy of the skein of the immortal Phar Lap.
“It is a big team that has now evolved and we all feel it come raceday and obviously appreciate her at the same time,” said trainer Chris Waller. “It is a huge privilege. She's a fantastic horse.”
“There is nothing like that winning feeling,” he added. “It lets everything settle down for another few weeks. The dream continues.”
That continuation is likely to be in the G1 Caulfield S. Oct. 8, Winx's next step towards a title defense in the Cox Plate.
“That has always been the original plan and nothing has changed there,” Waller said. “You always look at other races. It looks to fit in nicely, gives you the run over 2000 metres on the left leg.”
Winning jockey Hugh Bowman added, “I am just enjoying the ride, it is a very special ride for all of us involved with her. My job is to ride her, focus on her. Though, I'm sure I'll look back on it in years to come and really appreciate what she has done for me, Chris Waller, her owners and everyone involved with her, the vets, the farriers and just for people in racing. Other trainers, other owners and other jockeys really respect a horse like this; I have done it before with champions in the past. She is just ticking every box as she goes and it is just an honour to be a part of it.”
Pedigree Notes…
Winx is the second foal out of Vegas Showgirl, a two-time stakes winner and Group 3-placed in New Zealand. Bred by John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds, Winx, as previously mentioned, was sold for A$230,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2013. Winx was followed by an unraced half-brother by Fastnet Rock (Aus) named Win Win Leader (Aus), and her 3-year-old half-brother, El Divino (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), retained to race by Camilleri, earned 'TDN Rising Star' status on debut for trainer Gai Waterhouse before dead-heating for the win in last term's G3 Kindergarten S. with current 3-year-old standout Astern (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro). Winx's 2-year-old brother, also by Snitzel, will join El Divino in the Waterhouse yard after being bought by the trainer on behalf of Emirates Park Stud for A$2.3-million to top this year's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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