Superstar Winx has dominated the Australian racing calendar for the better part of three seasons now and trainer Chris Waller has thrown his first hints at taking the marquee mare overseas.
Fresh off her incredible 20th consecutive win, last Saturday at the George Main Stakes at Randwick, Waller has Winx aiming at a record-equalling third Cox Plate win later in the Spring.
The six-year-old also has her sights of one of Australia’s greatest of all time, Black Caviar, who amassed a scarcely believable 25 consecutive wins.
Winx will take one step closer to that mark next weekend, with Waller eyeing off the Turnbull Stakes as her next run and the final preparation leading into the Plate.
“I could not be happier with her recovery since the run and she continues to maintain her weight approximately 10kg heavier than what she was when winning the 2016 Cox Plate,” Waller said of the mare’s form pulling up from the George Main Stakes.
“It is likely her next run will be at Flemington on October 7 in the G1 Seppelt Turnbull Stakes.”
While all hands are on deck for the Spring Carnival, Waller has one eye on the future and the possibility of a highly-anticipated European adventure in 2018, much in the same vein as the aforementioned Black Caviar.
“To ease speculation on her future beyond 2017, I look forward to the Autumn and a possible trip overseas,” he said.
“She will either run during The Championships in the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes and look to target a race during the Royal Ascot Carnival or be freshened up subsequent to the George Ryder Stakes and be targeted towards a European campaign containing three races.”
AAP Image/Julian Smith
While the plans are still very open and dependant on the progress of her Australian season, Waller appears keen to take on the British Summer through the middle of next year.
Where Black Caviar took on the famed Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot as a one-and-done deal, Waller says he’d only be taking his mare over there to tackle an entire campaign.
“If she is where she is now and with another Cox Plate behind her she’ll come over here (Britain) for sure,” Waller said in January.
“But it won’t be for just one race, it will be for four or five.
“My thoughts are 1600 to 2000 metres in Australia is her best distance. But she’d be competitive early in her preparation over 1400 in Europe and may have a bit of an edge over that distance because of her speed.”
With the potential of taking her incredible streak up into the early to mid 20s by the end of the Australian season, Waller knows that the opportunities to remain on home soil are shrinking.
A trip to Europe will be a true global test of the incredible mare and provide her with new challenges, new opponents and a new stage to rise up to.
“I don’t see any more to achieve if she wins a third Cox Plate, which is a big assignment in itself,” said Waller.
“After that, I’m sure the owners would agree to a world experience.”
With a third Cox Plate on the horizon and a chance at toppling the once-unimaginable streak of Black Caviar, Winx is truly becoming one of the all-time greats.
An overseas run is one thing, but a whole campaign is a bold move and one that will bring plenty of interest to the sport and racing in Australia from a worldwide audience.
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