Winx To Wait For Bowman

With jockey Hugh Bowman having failed in his appeal to have a careless riding banned overturned, trainer Chris Waller announced that Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) will bypass the Feb. 17 G2 Apollo S. and instead start her campaign in the Mar. 3 G1 Chipping Norton S. Bowman picked up consecutive bans at Warwick Farm and in New Zealand that would have forced him to sit out the Apollo. Bowman has ridden Winx in her last 19 starts.

“Following consultation between the owners of Winx and I, the decision has been made for Winx to resume her racing preparation on Mar. 3 in the G1 Chipping Norton S. over 1600m,” read a statement from Waller. “Hugh Bowman is a very important part of Winx and we feel that we can go straight into the Chipping Norton first up without the need to resume in the Apollo S. as originally planned. She races well fresh and we are well ahead of schedule with her, so I will simply give her a third trial to ensure her fitness levels are high enough to compete at her best in this race. Should Hugh have been suspended in the middle or late in the preparation closer to her significant targets we would have opted to use a suitable replacement rider for Winx; however we are in the fortunate position that we can alter her starting point without affecting her main targets this preparation.”

Winx has won the Apollo, the Chipping Norton and the G1 George Ryder S. the last two seasons en route to victories at The Championships, last year in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. and in 2016 the G1 Doncaster H.