Co-owner Peter Tighe said trainer Chris Waller remained buoyant ahead of superstar mare Winx’s next spring target in the 2017 George Main Stakes after her tough win over the weekend.
Winx, above, made it 19 wins in a row with her hard fought victory in the Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Steve Hart.
Making it 19 straight wins on the trot, the recently crowned Victorian Racehorse of the Year left it to the dying stages to run down a brave Red Excitement and take out the Group 2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m).
It was a typically incredible effort from the six-year-old who also gave the punters a scare first-up a fortnight earlier after missing the kick in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes (1400m).
Both runs have put Winx to the test, but the daughter of Street Cry keeps living up to expectations continuing the fairy tale for connections including Tighe.
“Talking to [jockey] Hugh [Bowman] last night, he said she had a good blow after the race,” Tighe told RSN on Sunday speaking of Winx’s post-Chelmsford Stakes recovery.
“As Hugh puts it, she had to hit the afterburners and chase Red Excitement all the way down.
“I don’t think it’s done any damage to her, but she had to dig a bit deeper than normal.
“Hughie dropped his whip at the top of the straight, so he had no whip.
“The races [this time in] were run differently, missing the start in the first one, and the tearaway leader in the second are completely different to what we’ve had in the past.
“You can only win and that’s what she’s doing.”
The major aim for the $13 million earner is a shot at three consecutive wins in the Group 1 $3 million Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m), a feat only ever achieved by Kingston Town (1980-82).
She is odds-on in futures Cox Plate betting at Ladbrokes.com.au paying $1.50 and will head into the race via a final Sydney start on September 16 at Royal Randwick in the Group 1 George Main Stakes (1600m).
Winx took out last season’s George Main Stakes and is out to hand Waller with his dominating fifth win in the race from the past six years after the trainer’s earlier success with Shoot Out (2012), Sacred Falls (2014) and Kermadec (2015).
“Chris [Waller] is still very buoyant,” Tighe continued.
“He said she’s fine. We’re going forward to the next target.”
To back Winx next race in the George Main Stakes, run this season as the Colgate Optic White Stakes, and for access to the best early Cox Plate odds 2017 visit Ladbrokes.com.au today.
