Winx Grand Finale

Winx - Caulfield - October 2016

Day 2 of The Championships at Randwick racecourse is a sell out, and it’s all because of Winx, who will be running her last race at 3.05pm on Saturday afternoon in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Over the four years of Winx’s racing career, she has contested a total of 46 races, winning 36 of them, 24 of them at Group 1 level. She has remained unbeaten since May 2015, notching up 32 wins in succession.

In the 2019  Queen Elizabeth Stakes she will surely register her 33rd consecutive win and 25th Group 1, not to mention winning the race for a third year in a row. 

As her winning streak has grown, so has her popularity, hence the sell out at Randwick on Saturday.

I first noted her in my blog back in September 2014, though it wasn’t until she won her first Cox Plate that my interest was piqued.

The 2015 Cox Plate was the first time I saw her in the flesh, and she attracted hardly any interest at the course that day, standing unattended in her stall with very few interested bystanders. That’s quite a contrast to the present where crowds around her stall are ten deep.

I have had the privilege of seeing Winx racing live 11 times all up and I have devotedly watched all her races outside Melbourne wherever I may be. 

Without Winx the racing scene will lose some sparkle, especially as star colt The Autumn Sun has been retired to stud as well.

It will probably be a long time before a horse of Winx’s calibre comes along again.  However, we said that after Black Caviar’s retirement and look what happened.

That’s the good thing about following the horses, there’s always promising new runners every year. Some go on to glory, some fade away and hopefully go to fair pastures.

Anyway, I hope Winx  goes out on a high note in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Old rivals Hartnell and Happy Clapper will be there to send her off, along with new contenders He’s Eminent, Japanese challenger Kluger, and New Zealand mare Danzdanzdance.

For one last time – Go Winx!