Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), the world's highest-rated mare and turf horse, added some drama to her seasonal debut in Saturday's G2 Warwick S. when missing the break by four lengths, but nonetheless got up to beat stablemate and last-out G1 Coolmore Legacy S. winner Foxplay (Aus) (Foxwedge {Aus}) by a neck, notching her 18th consecutive win (video). Making her 6-year-old debut and her first start since a 5 1/4-length victory in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. over this same Randwick track on Apr. 8, Winx broke in the air and was well last in the opening stages of the 1400 metre race. Working her way gradually closer as Ecuador (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) made the running and Foxplay sat two lengths off his heels on the rail, Winx and Hugh Bowman were still last with at least six lengths to make up as they came off the turn. Widest of all coming into the straight, Winx blew past the entire field under a handride from Bowman and got up just in time to nip Foxplay on the line, with Ecuador staying on for third.
“What else can I say? She is just a freak,” Bowman said. “She can be fractious and threw herself around when the gates opened. I was a bit worried going past the 700 metres the way the track conditions are. They are really running slick times. I thought it was probably mathematically impossible but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to rely on the engine I know is in her. If I took off early to get closer I would have run out of gas. I just had to have confidence in her and ride her to win the race. I was stuck back there and I was thinking this isn't good, I don't like to be here, but it was an amazing feeling the last 200 metres.”
It was a one-two for trainer Chris Waller, who said, “Hugh never panicked. When you put the reins in his hands you know you've got the right man aboard. He realised he had to make up a bit of ground and used the full length of the straight to do it.
Of the runner-up Foxplay, he added, “She's had everything Winx has had. They went out together 16 weeks ago to spell together. They did the same pre-training. They live together. It was very good they went one-two and very good they finished that way around.”
Waller confirmed Winx is likely to return in two weeks for the G2 Chelmsford S. Her key spring target is a third straight win in the G1 Cox Plate in October.
Also at Royal Randwick on Saturday, 3-year-old Fastnet Rock (Aus) filly Formality (Aus) went gate-to-wire to win the G2 Silver Shadow S. (video). The Lindsay Park-trained, Coolmore-owned filly won last season's G3 Chairman's S. and was third in the G1 Blue Diamond S.
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