Another dominant performance in the Group 1 $1m China Horse Club George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill on March 24 will see Winx book her ticket to race at Royal Ascot in England in June.
Winx, above, is still in the mix to head to England for the Royal Ascot Carnival. Photo by Steve Hart.
Winx returned for the 2018 Autumn Carnival at Randwick on Saturday in dynamic form with a runaway seven lengths victory over Prized Icon in the Group 1 $600,000 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) which took her overall wins to twenty-seven, her unbeaten run to twenty-three and her Group 1 wins to sixteen.
The champion mare was sent out as the $1.09 favourite and all jockey Hugh Bowman had to do was hang on as she breezed past her opposition in the straight.
Trainer Chris Waller and connections will make a decision after the George Ryder Stakes in three weeks if Winx will take on the overseas stars and head to England to run in the Group 1 £600,000 The Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot on June 19.
“I think if she’s at her very best, she’s a great chance of going but anything less than that, she’s a great chance of not going,” Waller told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“We want our darling to tell us what she wants to do and how the next stage of her life goes.”
Part owner Peter Tighe said that Winx has just about booked a spot on the plane and the team will make a decision after the George Ruder Stakes.
“What is left to do is in three weeks’ time. She is 50 per cent there for what we wanted her to prove, and what Chris wanted her to do,” Tighe said.
“He wanted her to win and he wanted her to win convincingly.
“And she has done all of that. We want the same thing to happen in three weeks’ time then it is a big decision.
“If we are going to do anything about Europe, we have to do it very shortly after the George Ryder Stakes. The decision has to be made the Monday or Tuesday after that race.”
Tighe said that even if Winx is to travel to England she will still probably try to make it back to back wins in the Group 1 $4m Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick on April 14, day two of The Championships and chase a fourth consecutive win in the Group 1 $3m Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley during the Melbourne Spring Carnival.
“The sensible options are the Queen Elizabeth, Ascot and hopefully the Cox Plate,” Tighe said.
Winx is currently the $1.25 favourite for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au, well ahead of her nearest rival, the Darren Weir trained Humidor at $10.
Early betting for the 2018 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ladbrokes.com.au: $1.25 Winx, $10 Humidor, $15 Gailo Chop, Johannes Vermeer, Kementari, $17 Rekindling, $21 Ace High, Ambitious, Brave Smash, D’Argento, Tosen Stardom, $26 Admire Winner, Alizee, Aloisia, Clincher, Crocosmia, Deauville, Happy Clapper, Poetic Dream, Tom Melbourne, $34 or better the rest.
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