Winx ready to write more chapters into history books

7am Saturday BST Moonee Valley
Ladbrokes Cox Plate | 1m2f | Group 1 | 3yo+

Gust Of Wind was the last horse to beat Winx, back in April 2015, but it would take a hurricane to knock the wondermare off course in her quest for a third Cox Plate.

She has pen in hand and is ready to write another couple of chapters into racing's history books.

Victory would make her Australia's highest-earning racehorse of all time; she would equal Kingston Town's record of three successive Cox Plates in the early 1980s; she would also equal Black Caviar's Group 1 record; she would be the shortest-priced winning favourite in the race since Phar Lap in 1931 and she would maintain her unbeaten record at Moonee Valley.

Seldom has there been so much at stake.

There have been a few frights in the lead-up to this Cox Plate. Winx had only a head to spare over Foxplay in the Warwick Stakes at Randwick having missed the break by a few lengths, and there was also a lot of nail-biting before she collared Red Excitement to win the Chelmsford Stakes at the same Sydney venue.

But a return to Melbourne has seen Winx back to her brilliant best. She coasted clear to win the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington by six and a half lengths and trainer Chris Waller believes she is ready to bring her A game back to Moonee Valley.

Waller said: "I couldn't be any happier with her. You can see it in the horse, and the team at home is very happy with the way that her preparation has gone.

"The beauty of Winx is she makes our job easier. She’s an absolute professional.

"What you see on raceday is exactly what you see every day of the week with her, and it's an absolute privilege to be a part of her career."

He added: "We know she can do it. She can come back and repeat it. There's a little bit of confidence, but in racing you don’t want to get too far ahead of yourself."

That, perhaps, is a sentiment to be shared among racing fans and racecourse officials in Europe dearly hoping that Winx can maintain her form long enough to be sent overseas in 2018; she has an entry in next month's Japan Cup, although that is thought an unlikely goal for the six-year-old, who has 14 Group 1s to her name.

Some say Winx's two best performances have arrived in her two Cox Plate wins. She clobbered Criterion by almost five lengths in 2015, while her eight-length hammering of Hartnell last year was the widest winning margin in the history of the race.

Jockey Hugh Bowman believes that the track at Moonee Valley, and the way the Cox Plate is usually run, suits Winx.

He said: "Winx does seem to really like Moonee Valley. It's a track which has more cushion in it, which she enjoys. She's so good on her feet and likes to go through her gears on the cambered bends. In a Cox Plate the pressure builds a long way from home, and that suits her style of racing."

He added: "I'm not going to fall into the trap of being too confident. I've a healthy respect for her rivals. But I’m on a supreme athlete and the reality is I just need to stay out of trouble and give her clear galloping room."

Aside from the global interest in Winx, the Cox Plate is not devoid of British involvement, with Charlie Appleby saddling Folkswood and Jane Chapple-Hyam running Kaspersky, a first ride in the race for Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne.

What they say

Damien Oliver, rider of Happy Clapper
I won't be riding my race around Winx. I'll be riding my horse to suit himself and for him to run as well as he possibly can.

Darren Weir, trainer of Gailo Chop and Humidor
Gailo Chop is fit and well, he's going great. Humidor is good too. We're really happy with him, otherwise we'd not be running him. Jarrod [McLean] said he had come through Caulfield really well.

Michelle Payne, rider of Kapsersky
You can only do your best. We'll go out there and treat it like any other race and give it our best shot and see what happens. I don't know if I'd be the most popular person in Australia if we happened to beat Winx!

Kerrin McEvoy, rider of Folkswood
Winx is a champion and we have to try to rise to her level. This is a horse race and anything can happen but Folkswood does need to produce a career-best to get near Winx. I genuinely think he can run well, though. He felt really good at Cranbourne.

Ben Hayes, trainer of Seaburge
We thought Seaburge's last run was encouraging. We've got him right so why not have a crack? But it'll be fun watching Winx win.

Tony McEvoy, trainer of Royal Symphony
You have to go out with a plan to try to win every race. We haven’t told Royal Symphony that Winx is in the race! He's ready to run to a peak performance but whether that's good enough I'm not sure.

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