Winx: Farewell to the greatest champion we’ve ever seen
With her fairytale story of success, she is the superstar horse who won the hearts of a nation, writes Tony Thomas. But with Winx’s last race on Saturday, we may never see another champion like her again.
The little girl was wearing her favourite blue dress, her blond hair neatly tied back with a dark blue ribbon.
Her father was holding her hand tightly as they navigated the throngs congregating for that one special glimpse.
Dad picked her up, put her on his shoulders and pointed to one of the stalls at the back of Randwick Racecourse.
“Is that her, Daddy? Is that Winx?,’’ the little girl said, her voice shaking with excitement.
“That’s her, sweetie. That’s Winx.’’
“Wow,’’ she whispered.
Wow indeed.
In the years to come, it may be doubtful this little girl, all of about six or seven, will remember what she saw at Randwick that day in early March 2019.
But her dad will always be able to recall the time they saw Winx, the wonder racehorse, the sporting superstar the likes of which we may never see again.
In a small moment in time, this anecdote encapsulates all that is Winx and why she is much more than just another racehorse.
Why people of all ages flock to watch her, awe-struck by her magnificence.
Why racetrack crowds double every time she races, even though she invariably starts at unbackable odds.
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Why the most prestigious world thoroughbred awards named her the best on the planet in 2018.
And why the ageless Bill Waterhouse, who still remembers watching Phar Lap as a boy and has marvelled at all the great champs since, doffs his hat to Winx as the greatest he’s ever seen.
At some point, emotion has to come out of it and pure facts speak to the enormity of what Winx has achieved thus far.
She has managed 32 straight wins, more than any horse in Australian turf history, and has scored an incredible 24 Group 1 wins, a world record.
This is perhaps the best record of all, among several she has already eclipsed, as Group 1 racing is the pinnacle of the sport, where you race against the best every time.
To win one Group 1 is significant in itself — but 24? The mind boggles.
She is the only horse to have won four straight Cox Plates in Melbourne, the race the purists claim is the one true test of champions.
And it’s the race where almost all of the greats of yesteryear have won — but never four times.
She is easily the highest prizemoney earner in Australian racing history but money doesn’t matter here. For all those closest to the mare, it never has.
The ownership group of Debbie Kepitis, Peter Tighe and Richard Treweeke were invested in horse racing for the love of the sport and the thrill of maybe owning a horse good enough to win a city race and, dare they dream, a Group 1 event.
They attended the Magic Millions Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast in 2013 and shelled out $230,000 for the daughter of Street Cry and Vegas Showgirl.
Ironically, she wasn’t their first choice at the sale.
“She was probably fourth on the list,’’ Kepitis has said. “When we didn’t get our third pick, we decided to up the ante with our budget and then we got Winx.’’
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On June 4 2014, Winx began her racetrack career with a win in a lowly race at Warwick Farm in Sydney’s outer west.
She won again at her next start and then at Group 2 level at only her third start, always a sign that a horse may well be a bit above the average.
She was beaten at her next run and had a few more defeats, and a couple more wins, before a race called the Sunshine Coast Guineas in May 2015.
She came from a nearly impossible position with 300m to run to gather in the leaders and win comfortably in the end.
After the race, trainer Chris Waller said: “Winx’s turn of foot makes her one of the best fillies in the country.’’
From that moment on, Winx has been undefeated, taking on all comers, in Melbourne and in Sydney, on dry tracks and wet tracks, in fast-run races or those at a dawdling pace.
In all those 32 wins, there has rarely been a moment when the world thought she could lose, such has been her dominance.
Shortly after her fourth straight Cox Plate win last year, Waller said: “Most horses you are trying to squeeze that extra two per cent out of them but, with Winx, we don’t need to do that. I don’t think I would offend anyone by saying she is 10 per cent better than the competition.’’
As she heads for her final start, the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick on Saturday, her fans are preparing themselves for the end.
It will be a sellout crowd at Randwick and there will be tears, lots of tears, from everyone lucky enough to be there.
“What she has done for racing, for her owners, for my team, for my family and for the fans who follow her is hard to put into words,’’ Waller said.
Tony Thomas is The Daily Telegraph’s deputy managing editor and head of racing.
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