Door still ajar for fitting spring farewell for world’s best Winx

WINX’S magical Melbourne spring racing carnival might not yet be over, with a start in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes at Flemington on Saturday week a possibility.

Winx at Flemington with stable foreman Jo Taylor. Picture: David Crosling

WINX’S magical Melbourne spring racing carnival might not yet be over.

Trainer Chris Waller — still coming to terms with Winx’s Cox Plate supremacy — admitted on Sunday the Group 1 Emirates Stakes at Flemington on Saturday week is a possibility.

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While adamant long-term objectives and horse welfare will continue to shape Winx’s schedule, Waller said he would weigh up all options after discussing the wonder mare’s immediate future with owners.

“I haven’t started to give my opinion to the owners,” Waller said.

“I wouldn’t say it’d be early in the week, I’d say later in the week we’ll get together and have a bit of a chat.

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“The grand final was yesterday (Saturday). It’s not just about the week or two weeks’ lead-up.

“The whole preparation was geared toward yesterday, and we’ve got to remember the horse as well.

“So later in the week we’ll have a good think about it.”

See you later: Winx and jockey Hugh Bowman sweep off the final turn bound for a historic victory. Picture: David Crosling

Waller said autumn targets such as the Longines Queen Elizabeth were more important as he struggled to reconcile the magnitude Winx’s second successive Cox Plate rout.

Victorious last year by almost five lengths in race record time, Winx emulated Sunline’s 1999-2000 double and broke the race record for the greatest winning margin, saluting by eight lengths.

“I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d train a horse anywhere near as good as Sunline, but now that we’re doing it, it’s surreal,” Waller said.

Waller repeated his intention to keep Winx in Australia.

“To go overseas, you’ve got to work out what cost it comes at,” he said.

Hugh Bowman gives Winx a kiss after their amazing victory. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“She is certainly adaptable enough to go over there.

“Or maybe they should come to us.

“We’ve got to weigh all that up.

“I think the Cox Plate’s just as important in the spring next year, as is the Queen Elizabeth in the autumn.

“I would love to back her up again and race but so many things have to be considered — first and foremost is the horse.

Hugh Bowman after Winx crosses the line by a record winning margin. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“If we feel she is up to it then we have to say how will this affect her autumn preparation.

“It is so important to have her back for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and The Championships in Sydney (next autumn).

“We also have to remember her longevity. Australia has embraced Winx and Australia wants Winx for a few more seasons to come.

“This is more important than backing her up in two weeks time. I would like to put it on again in two weeks but it is not as easy as that.’”

As close as Waller is to the superstar, who next month will be formalised as the Longines world’s best racehorse, even the amiable Kiwi was surprised by her dominance.

“I would have thought at best there would have been a bit of a match race from the half mile (800m), a tough duel to the finish,” he said.

Easy street: Hugh Bowman and Winx. Picture: Colleen Petch

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“I thought there would be someone else there but to see that happen blew me away.”

Winx could next year equal Kingston Town’s record of three successive wins from 1980-82.

Top jockey Glen Boss piloted Makybe Diva into history as the only horse to win three Melbourne Cups in a row, as well as a Cox Plate.

Watching from Singapore, Boss tweeted: “Just watched Winx C Plate win ...

“Wow Wow. That is the best win I’ve ever seen. CHAMPION.”

Winx “happy with her lot” after remarkable feat

THE heroine of the Cox Plate, superstar mare Winx cut a relaxed figure at Chris Waller’s Melbourne stables the morning after her extraordinary record-breaking eight-length win in the Cox Plate.

Chris Waller’s Melbourne stable foreman Johanne Taylor said the superstar had come through the run in great shape.

“She’s a happy horse. She pulled up in very good order,” Taylor said.

“She came home after the race and had a good feed and she’s bright and on her toes this morning. She was still asleep this morning at 5.30am when we walked into the stable.”

“Once we brought her out of the box she was on her toes and just a happy mare.”

“We gave her a stretch this morning on the walker and then iced her legs in an ice bucket.

“She’ll have a quiet day today. She’ll have another stretch with a little walk in the afternoon,” she said.

Taylor said at some stage during the week she envisaged Waller would tell her to take Winx to the beach.

“Chris usually calls up at 5.30am and tells me to take her to the beach. I would think she will go the beach in the next couple of days,’ she said.

Taylor said Waller would be down later in the week to check on Winx.

Taylor has been with Waller for four and a half years.

Her roles have included being Waller’s travelling foreman and she took Brazen Beau to England when he ran at Royal Ascot.

At the start of this racing season she became Waller’s Melbourne foreman and she can’t believe her luck.

“It’s unreal the timing to be here when Winx wins a Cox Plate like that. I can’t believe it,” she said.

Taylor said she thought it “was only a small chance” that Winx would start in the Emirates Stakes on the final day of the Melbourne carnival.

Taylor said Winx deserved a decent break.

“She had surgery before going for her last spell and was handled every day. She needs a good spell as she hasn’t had a chance just to be a horse for a long time,” Taylor said.

Taylor said Winx “was a very easy horse to deal with.”

“She knows her routine but she also knows how to push the envelope when she wants to.”

Taylor said the stables’ two “warhorses” Grand Marshall and Who Shot Thebarman had come through their runs in the Moonee Valley Cup, which they quinealled, in great order.

She said that the pair had gone to the beach on Sunday morning for a wade.

“The old horses have pulled up very well. They are happy old men,” she said.

The pair will again contest the Melbourne Cup next Tuesday, a race they both contested last year.

With Michael Manley

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