'The future champion we've all been waiting for has arrived' - Winx becomes mum

Legendary racemare Winx welcomed her first foal in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The 11-year-old, whose 25 Group 1 victories is the same as Frankel, Sea The Stars, Baaeed and Flightline currently have between them, delivered a healthy filly by Pierro in the Hunter Valley.

Despite being overdue, the four-time Cox Plate winner and her newborn are reported to be doing well.

Having lost her first foal just weeks out from the expected birth in 2020, when she was in foal to champion sire I Am Invincible, Winx's owners were understandably elated by the news.

They said on Instagram: "The Tighe, Kepitis, and Treweeke families are ecstatic to announce that the future champion we've all been waiting for has arrived.

"Both mum and foal are healthy and doing very well.

"Thank you to the amazing team who have cared for Winx and her filly throughout this journey.

"We wish Winx all the best as she starts this new chapter as a super mum."

The Chris Waller-trained Winx dominated the middle-distance scene in Australia for four years, winning a ridiculous 33 consecutive races in compiling a resume of 37 victories from 43 starts plus three seconds, and a total of around £14.5 million in prize-money.

She never made it to Royal Ascot, while her being rated only joint world champion with Cracksman on 130 in 2018 sparked plenty of debate and feeds into a belief that many hold that horses in the Far East and Australasia are not given the credit they deserve relative to the cream of Europe.

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