The wonder-mare will make her season’s debut and attempt to extend her winning streak to 18 consecutive races when she meets seven other contenders in the Warwick Stakes at Randwick tomorrow.
Any hope her rivals had that she may be slowing down with age was quickly put to bed when her trainer, Chris Waller, and rider Hugh Bowman fronted the media yesterday morning after her final serious gallop at Rosehill leading up to her return to racing. Waller reported that Winx will return an even stronger athlete than when she won the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April.
"Quite remarkably, she seems to be getting a little bit bigger and stronger," he said.
"She has put on a bit of extra weight and has turned that into muscle."
There have been no problems for Winx in the build-up towards for her racing as a 6yr-old.
"She is a very hard horse to get a gauge on where her fitness is at, but what I can say is she has certainly had a trouble-free preparation," Waller said.
"I don’t think I would change anything going into her first-up run and it is certainly a good place to be going in to the spring.
"It’s not a matter of asking her to improve at this stage in her career, it’s just a matter of maintaining her."
Whether being bigger and in stronger physical order than previous season means she will be an even more potent force on the track will not be known until she tested on race day.
"Saturday is a good pointer for all of us," Waller said.
Bowman gave Winx a glowing report after riding the mare in work yesterday and told the waiting media scrum the horse was as bright as she had ever been at this point in her build-up.
"Usually at this stage of the preparation she is very calm and relaxed, taking everything in her stride, and it’s not until we get to the business end of the campaign that she starts to feel as enthusiastic as she did this morning.
"It’s interesting that she is more on the ball, so to speak, at this stage of the prep."
Winx is not only feeling more forward in her work, but she has already shown it on the trial track by winning the first barrier trial of her career. The two-time Cox Plate champion is rated a $1.08 win favourite in early markets for the Warwick Stakes, ahead of stablemate Foxplay at $17. Several of New Zealand’s best gallopers will also make their returns to racing tomorrow, in the Foxbridge Plate at Te Rapa.
The biggest challenge for the Allan Sharrock-trained Kawi, who is a $4.50 early favourite, could come from the weather gods, rather than his race rivals.
The Te Rapa track had a slow9 rating earlier this week and MetService is forecasting rain for the region.
Should the track deteriorate, the Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman-trained Mime should shorten from her early $11 odds. The 5yr-old not only handles rain-affected going, but is also a Te Rapa course specialist with three starts for two wins at the venue.
- Jonny Turner
