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Winx battling just half a dozen on Flemington debut

Winx at Moonee Valley.(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
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5th October, 2017
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Superstar mare Winx will make her long-awaited debut at the famed Flemington Racecourse on Saturday, tackling the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes in sight of an incredible 21st consecutive win.

In shades of her last trip to Victoria where the six-year-old took on a monster field of just two other runners in the Caulfield Stakes in October last year, she will again be tackling a smaller pack this weekend.

With 11 nominations coming through earlier in the week, the field has been finalised at just six runners for the mare to take on in her rare trip south of the border.

Just the participation of Winx in the past has shortened fields with trainers and owners not willing to risk running a lost cause.

The Chris Waller-trained six-year-old has brushed off a shaky start in August and is only getting stronger heading into the Cox Plate.

A miracle win from a false start at Warwick Stakes was the closest we’ve seen to the streak ending and she had to really work hard late from the back two weeks later at the Chelmsford Stakes to keep the number ticking over.

She ran a much more relaxed, composed and overall comfortable race in her last start at the George Main Stakes to hit the 20 mark at Randwick leading into this Saturday.

Waller knows the long straight at Flemington will be an adjustment on debut for Winx, but a few gallops and practice runs around the track earlier in the week have her in good stead.

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“She steadily built momentum into the work to ensure she knew what the long Flemington straight was all about and attacked the line well,” said Waller.

“I couldn’t have been any happier with the work.”

The biggest challenge will come from the Darren Weir-trainer Humidor, fresh off a barnstorming run in the Makybe Diva Stakes that saw the Kiwi gelding cruise home by three lengths and a head.

While an undulating campaign so far will leave punters nervous on Humidor, the rest of the field is looking far from a threat for Winx leading into the 2,000-metre run.

Irish horse Ventura Storm looks the goods to pick up a place finish, but getting caught back in traffic during the aforementioned Makybe Diva Stakes didn’t do him any favours as he struggles to find form across the start of the season.

Aussie trainer, and former AFL player, Robert Hickmott has both Sir Isaac Newton and Assign in the field.

Assign has had Group 1 success in the past, but crumbling from the top of the field to 14th in his last start at Caulfield has trainer Robert Hickmott reassessing the Spring itinerary.

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He is one of three runners in the seven-horse field to be sitting at triple figures in the bookies market alongside Magicool and Skyfire.

Since coming through for a relatively surprising Group 1 win at the Queensland Derby back in June, Magicool has since finished in the last three in every single one of his last 11 starts.

Skyfire is actually paying at $501 for the win… so there’s that.

The point is, aside from Humidor, this field looks to be of little challenge to the mighty Winx in search of win number 25 of her career and 21st on the trott.

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