Comparing Winx’s racing career to Black Caviar’s is akin to comparing apples to oranges, writes Ray Hickson

GALLERY: WINX has reached 16 straight wins leading many to question if she is better than Black Caviar. Ray Hickson weighs in on why comparing the two champions is futile.

Winx ridden by Hugh Bowman wins the George Ryder

WE’VE just witnessed Winx, the current First Lady of the turf, reach a sweet 16 straight wins in taking her second George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill.

So she’s better than Black Caviar now, right?

Wrong. Well, sort of.

The roars of the crowd as Winx again crushed her opposition in as testing conditions as you’ll get on a racecourse tell you she’s a rock star.

But to compare Winx’s racing career to Black Caviar’s is akin to comparing apples to oranges.

Black Caviar was never beaten in 25 starts.

"She's like the staying Black Caviar"- Glyn Schofield re Winx after riding Le Romain into 2nd behind the champ

— brad davidson (@braddavo) March 18, 2017

She had an aura of invincibility that was fully tested out in England before she returned for her triumphant final campaign in the autumn of 2013.

It’s in our nature to compare current champions with those of the past, and it’s not confined to horse racing.

Black Caviar was a sprinter who defied horses like Hay List and Buffering, champions in any other era, to run her down or stared down and broke the spirit of those that tried to outrun her.

Winx can sprint but her pedigree allows her to stretch out to middle distances, since her defeat in the 2015 ATC Oaks she’s been untouchable between 1400m and 2200m.

Winx ridden by Hugh Bowman wins the George Ryder

If somebody had of said I'd see a better horse than Black Caviar in my lifetime, I'd have slapped them. #WINX

— Brad 🕵🏻 (@HorseMiller3) March 18, 2017

That’s just one reason why it is unfair to compare Black Caviar and Winx.

The other is that while Winx is basically unbeatable at present she will never, ever, be unbeaten.

This debate is going to continue for a while, though, and if Chris Waller follows his program of the last couple of preparations Winx would be due to reach 25 straight — Black Caviar’s mark — about this time next year.

If you want to use most Group 1 wins, most prizemoney and winning streaks as the basis then Winx will, by then, most likely sit atop all lists.

Winx is clearly better than anything we have in Australia so it’d be interesting to see her go international in 2018.

Why compare champions? Winx has bigger range than Black Caviar but Usain Bolt doesn't run marathons. We're blessed to have seen them both

— Roger Oldridge (@roger_oldridge) March 18, 2017

Whether she goes or not remains to be seen, but I very much hope the rest of the world gets to see what we’ve been so lucky to witness since that winning streak began almost two years ago.

If you want a contemporary to compare Winx to then Sunline is the one to line her up against and she’s probably surpassed that great mare’s deeds (aside from going international).

Black Caviar, with Luke Nolen on-board in the Newmarket Handicap.

I can’t quite be impartial because Sunline is a personal favourite but she’s much more Winx-like than those trying to compare with Black Caviar.

Sunline, for those who don’t know, was a Kiwi mare who was a dominant force in races from 1400m to 2040m between 1998 and 2002. She retired with 32 wins from 48 starts including 14 Group 1 wins.

I have never seen a crowd go off as they round the turn. That includes Black Caviar. She's unbelievable #Winx

— Alex Donnelly (@AlexDonnelly14) March 18, 2017

She raced in four Cox Plates, winning two and finishing second and fourth in the others.

We loved Sunline because she was a fighter, a bold front runner who was faced with unbelievable competition from the likes of Northerly, Lonhro and Tie The Knot to name just a few.

Back in September I wondered why we love Winx so much and concluded that I couldn’t come up with a reason aside from the fact she’s just so darn good.

I still can’t.

But perhaps that is the reason we love her. She’s just better than them — by a lot — as we see time and time again.

ROSEHILL IN PICTURES