Winx is so special and I'm the lucky man who gets to sit in the driver's seat

Beauty is rarely skin-deep and Hugh Bowman, regular rider of Winx, has been seduced not by appearance but by qualities that run far, far deeper.

As the pair march in step towards their bid for a Cox Plate hat-trick at Moonee Valley, Melbourne, on Saturday, he says of the wondermare: "You put her in a paddock with ten other horses and she doesn't stand out. You would never look at her and say 'wow'. She's just not that type of horse.

"As strong as she is, her action is not unbelievable. I've ridden better-moving horses in my time. Her qualities are within – her tenacity to win; her will to be first past the post is incredible."