Rising UK star Enable is the one horse that can beat the mighty Winx

TWENTY consecutive victories certainly marks Winx as the best racehorse in Australia right now — but there is one horse that could best the mighty mare.

Who would win? (L-R) Winx v Enable.

TWENTY consecutive victories certainly marks Winx as the best racehorse in Australia right now.

In fact the mighty mare’s form is so good that she appears to have scared off the opposition ahead of the Group 1 $500,000 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday.

However, there is one horse racing right now who has the form line to take it up to Winx, and perhaps beat her.

THE CHALLENGER

Enable, a northern hemisphere three-year-old filly, has been dominating European middle distance racing since May 2017 winning six from six.

Her last five victories were at Group 1 level and she won by a combined 22.5 lengths.

Currently rated the fifth best horse in the world via the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings with a rating of 126 (Winx is second on the list rated at 132), Enable is a supreme talent.

Jockey Frankie Dettori guides Enable to win the 96th Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

THE FORM LINE

Punters love a form line and luckily there is one, albeit faint, that can be drawn between the two.

In 2015 a raw but talented three-year-old named Highland Reel arrived in Australia with big wraps and the Cox Plate in his sites. It wasn’t to be.

Winx ran away with the race, beating Criterion (4.8 lengths) with Highland Reel next in third a further 0.7 lengths back.

Since then, Highland Reel has gone on to show his class, winning five Group 1 races and almost $12 million for connections. He is currently rated the equal eighth best horse in the world.

On 29 July 2017, Highland Reel took to the York track in a bid to defend his Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes crown.

Unfortunately for the stallion he ran into Enable on that day and the young upstart thrashed him by 9.25 lengths.

For the record, Winx carried half a kilogram less than Highland Reel back in 2015, Enable enjoyed a 6.5 kilogram pull in the weights when she won in July.

Winx and her jockey Hugh Bowman form a deadly duo.

THE DISTANCE

Now it’s time for a disclosure, were Enable and Winx to meet then one, or both, would have to move out of their comfort zone.

Winx is a flexible runner, dominant from 1400m up to 2000m. The furthest she has run and won was the 2200m Queensland Oaks on 30 May 2015 and prior to that she ran second in the 2400m Group 1 ATC Oaks (11 April 2015).

Enable is a stayer, the shortest distance she ever ran at was 1600m in her maiden race and since then she stepped up to 2000m (once, finishing third), 2300m (once, a win in Listed class) with her last five starts at 2400m (all Group 1 class and she won them all).

On that basis, it is not a tremendous stretch to ask Winx to step up, and Enable down, to 2200m.

WHO WOULD WIN?

At even weights, and that’s what they would run at were Enable (a northern hemisphere 3-yo but southern hemisphere 4-yo) to come to Australia and meet Winx under the weight-for-age scale, you would expect one hell of a duel. But on her home tracks and at the top of her powers Winx would probably get the job done.

However, if Winx were to take on Enable in the northern hemisphere it would be a very different story as the Aussie mare would have to concede a massive 5.5 kilograms to her younger UK rival.

As the saying goes, weight can stop a train, and conceding 5.5 kilograms to Enable would be enough to derail Winx and her perfect record.

If they met in the northern hemisphere, at a distance that doesn’t really suit either, in an alternate universe ...

Originally published as Rising UK star Enable is the one horse that can beat the mighty Winx