Winx (horse)

Winx
Sire	Street Cry
Grandsire	Machiavellian
Dam	Vegas Showgirl
Damsire	Al Akbar
Sex	Mare
Foaled	14 September 2011[1]
Country	Australia
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Fairway Thoroughbreds
Owner	Magic Bloodstock Racing, R G Treweeke & D N Kepitis
Trainer	Chris Waller
Record	23:17-3-0
Earnings	A$9,348,175[2]
Major wins
Furious Stakes (2014) Phar Lap Stakes (2015) Sunshine Coast Guineas (2015) Queensland Oaks (2015) Theo Marks Stakes (2015) Epsom Handicap (2015) Cox Plate (2015, 2016) Apollo Stakes (2016) Chipping Norton Stakes (2016) George Ryder Stakes (2016) Doncaster Handicap (2016) Warwick Stakes (2016) George Main Stakes (2016) Caulfield Stakes (2016)
Awards
Timeform rating: 128p[3]
Honours
Australian Horse of the Year (2015-6) Australian Champion Middle Distance Racehorse (2015-6)
Last updated on 8 October 2016

Winx (foaled 11 September 2011)^[4] is a Champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. Starting in May 2015, she has won thirteen consecutive races including the Cox Plate and Doncaster Mile. She was named the 2015-6 Australian Horse of the Year, then successfully defended her 2015 Cox Plate win with a commanding 8 length victory in the 2016 renewal over rival Hartnell. In the World's Best Racehorse Rankings, she was the second-ranked mare in 2015, improving in 2016 to become the world's top-ranked turf horse.

Background

Winx is a bay mare bred in Australia by Fairway Thoroughbreds. She was sired by the Irish-bred Street Cry, who won the Dubai World Cup in 2002 before becoming a very successful breeding stallion in North America and Australasia. His other progeny included Zenyatta, Street Sense, Shocking and Whobegotyou.^[5] Winx's dam, Vegas Showgirl, was a stakes winner in New Zealand who was bought by Fairway Thoroughbreds in 2008 as a broodmare prospect for A$455,000.^[6]

Winx was sold for $230,000 at the 2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast sale.^[6] During her racing career she has been owned in partnership by Magic Bloodstock Racing (managed by Peter Tighe), Richard Treweeke and Debbie Kepitis. She is trained by Chris Waller.^[7]

Racing career

2013/14: two-year-old season

After two racecourse trials, Winx made her competitive debut on 4 June 2014 and won over 1100 metres at Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney. Later that month, on her second and final race of the season, she won over 1400 metres at Warwick Farm Racecourse.^[4]

2014/15: three-year-old season

As a three-year-old, Winx recorded her first major success when she won the Group 2 Furious Stakes over 1200 metres at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in September.^[8] She then finished second to First Seal in both the Tea Rose Stakes and the Flight Stakes before being given a summer break.

She finished unplaced twice in February 2015 before winning the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes against male opponents over 1500 metres at Rosehill on 14 March.^[9] Two weeks later at the same track she was stepped up in distance for the Vinery Stud Stakes against other fillies but finished unplaced behind Fenway. She started 9/5 favourite for the Australian Oaks over 2400 metres at Randwick on 11 April but was beaten by the 16/1 outsider Gust of Wind. The filly was dropped in class for the Group 3 Sunshine Coast Guineas on 16 May and won by one and three quarter lengths from the colt Ulmann.^[10] On her final appearance of the season she started odds-on favourite for the Group 1 Queensland Oaks on 30 May at Doomben Racecourse and won by three and a half lengths from Ungrateful Ellen.^[11]

2015/16: four-year-old season

After running in a trial at Warwick Farm, Winx began her third season by starting favourite for the Group 2 Theo Marks Handicap over 1300 metres at Rosehill on 12 September and won by a head from the outsider Sons of John. Three weeks later she contested the 150th running of the Epsom Handicap over 1600 metres at Randwick. Starting favourite against thirteen opponents she overcame serious interference on the final turn to win by two and a half lengths from the six-year-old gelding Ecuador.^[12] Her weight of 57 kg was the highest ever carried to victory in the race by a female. Speaking after the race, her trainer Chris Waller commented "For her to pick herself up after that and put herself back in the race before bursting through like she did, it was pretty special. Her winning strike rate separates her from a lot of horses. She overcomes barrier draws, track conditions and distances. She had a long three-year-old year. She has been everywhere and she is still firing. For her to come back as a four-year-old is pretty special."^[13]

On 24 October Winx started favourite for Australia's most prestigious weight-for-age race, the Cox Plate over 2040 metres at Moonee Valley Racecourse. The field included an international element with Highland Reel (Secretariat Stakes) from Ireland, Arod (Diomed Stakes, Summer Mile Stakes) from England and Gailo Chop (Prix Guillaume d'Ornano) from France. The filly raced on the inside rail, broke clear of the field entering the straight and won by four and three quarter lengths from Criterion in a race record time of 2:02.98. After the race, her jockey Hugh Bowman said "She's a group 1 mare, she's a serious racehorse. From the 800 I was very confident".^[14] Waller commented "She is just such an athlete. I never thought when she was a young horse this was where she would get to".^[15]

Winx earned a rating of 123 for the Cox Plate, which placed her in a tie for eighth in the 2015 World's Best Racehorse Rankings. In comparison to other fillies and mares, she ranked only behind Treve and tied for second with Beholder.^[16]

After a three and a half month break, Winx returned in autumn for two races at Randwick. On 13 February she won the Group 2 Apollo Stakes over 1400 metres and was then stepped back up to Group 1 level for 1600 metre Chipping Norton Stakes two weeks later. Starting the odds-on favourite she won by a length and a half from Dibayani with Hauraki a length away in third. Bowman, who had ridden many major winners including So You Think described her as "the best I have had anything to do with"^[17] In the George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill on 19 March she again won at short odds, beating Kermadec by one and a half lengths. On 2 April the filly started odds-on favourite for the A$3 million Doncaster Mile at Randwick despite carrying top weight in a fifteen-runner field on unsuitably soft ground. She looked unlikely to obtain a clear run in the straight but broke through in the closing stages to win by two lengths from Happy Clapper. Waller commented, "I'll call her a champion while I can speak. I thought she was beaten at the half-mile. She must have an amazing will to win."^[18]

The win in the Doncaster earned Winx a rating of 126 by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), which tied her for the lead in the April 2016 listing of the World's Best Racehorse rankings with California Chrome. "That’s an extraordinarily high figure for a mare," said Racing Victoria’s Chief Handicapper Greg Carpenter. "When you think of the great mares of the last decade, only horses like Black Caviar, Treve, Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Danedream have been able to run to figures of 127 and higher."^[19]

Winx was voted the Australian Horse of the Year for 2015-6, receiving all but one vote. She was also named the Champion middle-distance performer.^[20]

2016/17: five-year-old season

Winx began her next season in the Warwick Stakes over 1400 metres at Randwick on 20 August. She took the lead 300 metres out and drew away to win by three and half lengths from Hartnell. She was entered in the Chelmsford Stakes on 3 September but scratched due to the heavy going.^[7] On 17 September, she won the Group I George Main Stakes, pushing her lifetime earnings past the A$7,000,000 mark. She also extended her winning streak to 11, tying her with Kingston Town. "The dream continues," said Waller.^[21] On 8 October, Winx faced only two rivals in the Caulfield Stakes. Black Heart Bart set the early pace, then Winx moved alongside on the turn while on the wrong lead. In the final furlong, she switched to the right lead and drew off.^[22]

On 22 October, Winx faced a stiffer challenge in her attempt to defend her 2015 win in the Cox Plate. Her leading rival was Hartnell, whose form had significantly improved since the two met in August in the Warwick, making him the early favorite for the Melbourne Cup. The field also included several other Group One winners such as Black Heart Bart, Hauraki, Lucia Valentina and Yankee Rose.^[23] Bowman placed Winx to the outside of Hartnell during the early running then released her with 600 metres remaining. Winx moved to a two length lead at the top of the stretch and continued to draw away, eventually winning by a record eight lengths from Hartnell. It was her thirteenth consecutive win, including nine Group One victories, and took her past Black Caviar and So You Think in career earnings. "We were along way away but we weren't disgraced", said David Vandyke, trainer of Yankee Rose who finished third. "We can say we got beaten by Winx."^[24]

Winx received a rating of 130 from the IFHA for her performance in the Cox Plate, making her both the top-ranked filly/mare and top-ranked turf horse in the world for 2016.^[25] The 130 rating is tied (with Treve and Goldikova) for the second-best rating ever given to a female horse – only Black Caviar (132) has received a higher rating.^[26]

Pedigree

See also

List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses

References