How champions Winx and Black Caviar catapulted racing out of its traditional heartland
REMARKABLY, in less than a decade, we have witnessed Black Caviar and Winx chain together streaks of 25 and 24 consecutive wins. Now Winx attempts to match Black Caviar’s winning sequence. LEO SCHLINK discovers what makes them special.
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WHEN Luke Nolen considers Winx, he sees little of Black Caviar — simply a champion of the rarest ilk.
Like Damien Oliver, Craig Williams and Ben Melham, Nolen appreciates Winx as a mesmeric presence, a potent force.
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TALE OF TWO WINNERS: $237,448 V $3567
As he takes a short break between races at Caulfield on Saturday to watch Winx attempt to emulate Black Caviar’s 25-race winning streak, Nolen’s loyalties will rest with history.
He craves another Winx triumph, another glory which adds incidental context to unbeaten Black Caviar’s lustrous feats.
IS WINX THE GREAT RACEHORSE OF ALL TIME?
Famed by his association with the mare known as “Nelly”, Nolen appreciates what Chris Waller, Hugh Bowman — and Winx — have achieved to reach racing immortality.
“Winx is probably the most famous racehorse since the black jet I rode,” he said.
“Black Caviar and Winx are wonderful PR machines for racing jurisdictions.
“The equine heroes of our game, we need them and Winx has been great for our sport, like Black Caviar was.
“They’re both great horses and they get people back to the races for the right reasons. Hopefully, they’ll be there in their droves to witness her 25th straight win. I hope she wins.”
Nolen partnered Black Caviar 22 times over a three-year span. Bowman has piloted Winx on 24 occasions in four years, failing only once.
Nolen came to loathe and love the pressure, dreading potential trackwork disaster while revelling in race-day relief.
He empathises with Bowman and Winx.
“It’s all the build-up and hysteria surrounding both animals pre-race which is the main thing,” Nolen said.
“When you get on them on race day, it becomes background noise. It disappears.
“The easiest part was riding Black Caviar. I felt more pressure on the gallop morning riding her than I did on race day because she was a real competitive horse at home on the track.
“You didn’t want to go too fast on her on her own because she could get real competitive. But on race day, because she was so gentle and so placid, you could enjoy the day more so.”
Nolen said he only fully appreciated Black Caviar when she bowed out in April 2013.
“I enjoyed it most when she retired,” Nolen said.
“Throughout her preparation there was a lot of pressure on all of us.
“Probably didn’t get to enjoy it quite as much but when she went for a spell, you got a chance to reflect.
“But she wasn’t long in the paddock and you start to look forward to that pressure again — you sort of thrive on it.
“I”m assuming it’s the same for Hugh, Chris and the owners.
“She’s public property, I suppose.”
When Winx chases a world record 18th Group 1 on Saturday, it will be almost exactly five years to the day since Black Caviar took her final bow with a searing TJ Smith Stakes win at the same track.
While Nolen acknowledges the milestone significance, he believes comparisons are redundant.
“They’re both fantastic animals but they should never be compared,” he said. “They should only be revered and celebrated.
“They’re two different horses. Black Caviar probably weighed 100 more kilos than Winx and took a longer stride.
“Black Caviar looked effortless in doing her job and so does Winx.”
One indisputable similarity, according to Nolen, is the superb management of both horses by Peter Moody and Waller.
“Because Black Caviar moved so quick and was such a hulking animal, she was only ever one injury away from retirement,” Nolen said.
“So you always looked after her. That was first and foremost.
“I looked after her 22 times because even though she was big, she was fragile. We knew that.
“Hugh and Chris have done the same for Winx.”
Williams has ridden against both Winx and Black Caviar — and watched both scorch past.
“I remember multiple times riding Group 1-winning sprinters against Black Caviar and you’d be thinking you had a length up your sleeve and Luke (Nolen) would come past on her with a throttle hold and she was just doing it effortlessly,” Williams said.
“You just realised then how good she was and how good she was for racing. She was just a brilliant athlete.
“It’s the same with Winx. For Winx to be doing what she’s doing now shows how well she’s been managed.
“She wasn’t overtaxed as a two-year-old. She went to a few of the carnivals but she was looked after and really well placed, not running in everything.
“There’s been really good respect in terms of what she requires and protecting her brand which is world-renowned now.
“Not that she has to go, but if she competed against the world’s best horses to 10 furlongs (2000m) on turf, I would be confident to say she would be beating them.”
Black Caviar gave Melham his first Group 1 in the 2010 Patinack Farm Classic — and a sensation he has not experienced since.
“When I rode Black Caviar, she broke their hearts,” he said. “She let down and was still on the bridle and went away from them.
“It’s just the way she could travel up without any effort and to sit on top of her, it didn’t feel like she was travelling that quick.
“She actually felt like she was in slow motion. She just covered that much ground with her stride in running quick sectionals
“Winx is a little bit the same.”
Oliver says both mares have catapulted racing out of its traditional heartland.
“The fact they’ve been able to sustain long winning streaks, it really captures people’s imaginations outside of racing because they’re out of the ordinary,” he said.
“It doesn’t come along too often. It brings people outside of racing into racing.
“When you ride against them, you always have to be optimistic but you know they have got that X-factor and they’ve got the ability to get themselves out of trouble if they do get into it.
“They’ve got acceleration — and sustained acceleration as well.
“Black Caviar made good horses look like average horses and absolute champions have the ability to do that.
“And Winx is the same. We’ve been lucky to have them.”
ULTIMATE DUEL AT 1400M
If Winx and Black Caviar were to hypothetically clash over 1400m — a distance they both won at — who would win? The Herald Sun polled a group of industry experts.
LUKE NOLEN — rode Black Caviar in 22 of her 25 wins.
“My allegiance is to Black Caviar so I’m going to say Black Caviar but it would be some sort of race. I reckon she could have competed out to 10 furlongs (2000m).
“She only ever took three serious gallops to bring her top and an animal I haven’t worked with since or before has had respiratory capabilities like that.
“If Winx got genuine toe in the track, I think in her youth she could easily have won an Everest (1200m) if she was trained for it.”
DAMIEN OLIVER — Melbourne Cup-winning rider.
“I’d probably have Black Caviar in front up to 1400m and then past 1400m, I’d be with Winx.”
CRAIG WILLIAMS — champion jockey.
“I wouldn’t dilute any of those two horses, they were both fantastic. It’s good talking point, everyone has their opinion but, for me, I just respect the two that came along when they did.”
PETER O’BRIEN — general manager of Segenhoe Stud and the man who was there when Winx was born.
“Winx. But I hate comparing champions because we have been blessed in our era to have had horses like Sunline, Makybe Diva, Black Caviar and now Winx. We have been absolutely spoiled.”
GARY CRISPE — Timeform ratings expert.
“Black Caviar by half a length to Winx.”
THE BAY vs THE BROWN
WINX AND BLACK CAVIAR
WINX
6YO, bay mare
Street Cry (Ire) — Vegas Showgirl (NZ)
Foaled: 14/09/2011
34 starts 28 wins 3 seconds 0 thirds
24 wins in succession, chasing a 25th consecutive win on Saturday
17 Group 1 wins, 26 Group or listed wins
Prizemoney: $16,563,925
Trainer: Chris Waller
Jockeys: Hugh Bowman (24, it will be 25 today), Jason Collett (5), Tommy Berry (2), James McDonald (1), Larry Cassidy (1), Joao Moriera (1)
Biggest winning margin: 8 lengths (2016 Cox Plate)
Winning distances: 1100, (1), 1200m (1), 1300m (1), 1400m (5), 1500 (4), 1600m (9), 2000 (3), 2040 (3), 2200m (1)\
First start: WON, 2YO race, Warwick Farm, June 2014
BLACK CAVIAR
11YO, brown mare
Bel Esprit — Helsinge
Foaled: 18/08/2006
25 starts 25 wins
15 Group 1 wins, 24 Group or listed wins
Prizemoney: $7,953,936
Trainer: Peter Moody
Jockeys: Luke Nolen (22), Jarrad Noske (2), Ben Melham (1)
Biggest winning margin: 6 lengths (twice, 2009 Blue Sapphire and 2011 Schweppes Stakes)
Winning distances: 1000m (6), 1200m (18), 1400m (1)
First start: WON, 2yo race at Flemington, April 2009
Last start: WON, TJ Smith Group 1, Randwick, April 2013
TWO SIDES TO THE STORY
— Both went through the sales ring for an almost identical price. Black Caviar was sold for $210,000 at the 2008 Inglis Premier Yearling Sales in Melbourne, while Winx fetched $230,000 at the 2013 Magic Millions on the Gold Coast
— Black Caviar’s 25 wins — which represented her entire racing career — stretched across 1456 days. If she wins on Saturday, Winx’s 25 consecutive victories will have come in 1064 days, though her career has now run 1654 days.
— Both horses raced at seven different tracks across their careers.
Winx: Randwick, Rosehill, Moonee Valley, Warwick Farm, Sunshine Coast, Caulfield, Doomben and Flemington.
Black Caviar: Flemington, Moonee Valley, Caulfield, Randwick, Morphettville, Doomben and Royal Ascot.
— If a punter placed $10 on Winx to win at the start of her streak and then rolled it over every start since, they would now have $237,448.10. If a punter had done the same with Black Caviar at the start if her unbeaten 25-start career, the punter would have $3567.30.
— Black Caviar started all of her 25 starts as favourite. She was odds-on in all bar one, with the longest price $3 in her debut race. Her shortest quote was $1.02 in the 2012 Australia Stakes.
— Winx has started odds-on in 20 of her 24 consecutive wins, with the best price $4.20 in her first Cox Plate win in 2015. Her shortest quote was $1.08 in the 2016 George Main Stakes.
WINX BLITZ
1 May 15 Gr3 Sunshine Coast Guineas (1600m) Sunshine Coast 1.8 lengths
2 May 15 Gr1 Queensland Oaks (2200m) Doomben 3.5 lengths
3 Sept 15 Gr2 Theo Marks Stakes (1300m) Rosehill 0.2 lengths
4 Oct 15 Gr1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) Randwick 2.3 lengths
5 Oct 15 Gr1 Cox Plate (2040m) Moonee Valley 4.8 lengths
6 Feb 16 Gr2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) Randwick 1 length
7 Feb 16 Gr1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) Randwick 1.5 lengths
8 May 16 Gr1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) Rosehill 1.5 lengths
9 Apr 16 Gr1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) Randwick 2 lengths
10 Aug 16 Gr2 Warwick Stakes (1400m) Randwick 3.5 lengths
11 Sept 16 Gr1 George Main Stakes (1600m) Randwick 1.3 lengths
12 Oct 16 Gr1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m) Caulfield 2 lengths
13 Oct 16 Gr1 Cox Plate (2040m) Moonee Valley 8 lengths
14 Feb 17 Gr2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) Randwick 1.3 lengths
15 Feb 17 Gr1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) Randwick 2 lengths
16 Mar 17 Gr1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) Rosehill 7.3 lengths
17 Apr 17 Gr1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) Randwick 5.3 lengths
18 Aug 17 Gr2 Warwick Stakes (1400m) Randwick 0.2 lengths
19 Sep 17 Gr2 Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) Randwick 1 length
20 Sep 17 Gr1 George Main Stakes (1600m) Randwick 1.3 lengths
21 Oct 17 Gr1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) Flemington 6.5 lengths
22 Oct 17 Gr1 Cox Plate (2040m) Moonee Valley 0.4 lengths
23 Mar 18 Gr1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) Randwick 7 lengths
24 Mar 18 Gr1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) Rosehill 0.8 lengths
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