Champion mare Winx can win Cox Plate from any barrier

WHEN it comes to The Valley, Cox Plates and Winx — and pretty much anywhere else — barrier draws are irrelevant but her owners may not be aware that history is on her side, writes LEO SCHLINK.

WHEN it comes to The Valley, Cox Plates and Winx — and pretty much anywhere else — barrier draws are irrelevant.

Successful at The Valley in 2015 from the pole, gate three in ’16 and alley No.5 last season, Winx has been impregnable at the iconic amphitheatre.

Tuesday’s draw, where connections were asked to choose barriers after their horse’s name was randomly drawn, saw Winx land in gate six in a field of eight.

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Part-owner Peter Tighe had a choice of four gates — two, six, seven and eight.

He settled on six — and brought the house down as he reprised, straight-faced, Mick Jagger and The Rolling Stones.

“There’s no problem, but you can’t always get what you want,” Tighe said.

“We would have liked another couple in, but we’re gotta take what’s left and we’re happy with that.”

Winx hits The Valley before the Cox Plate barrier draw. Picture: Alex Coppel

Tighe might not have known it at the time, but gate six has been the most successful Cox Plate barrier over the past 35 years.

For all that, TAB markets suggest where Winx starts the 2040m trek is immaterial.

She is a $1.25 chance to win her fourth Cox Plate, confronted by just seven rivals.

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Winx’s three-season reign in Australia’s greatest weight-for-age contest has been shaped by an unworldly faculty for blowing the race apart long before it is over.

Last year was the exception to the rule when Humidor ran Winx and Hugh Bowman close before she rallied.

Winx gets a wash down after track work. Picture: Alex Coppel

Humidor, from No 7, is back this year in an intriguing mix of the proven and contending.

The testing material has always shaped to come from Godolphin Benbatl, who jumps from three.

Already a Group 1 victor in Australia, Benbatl’s international rating marks him out as a truly serious horse.

His barrier, unlike Winx’s, matters.

On Saturday, at 5pm, Saeed bin Suroor will know a lot more about his charge — and Winx.

COX PLATE (2040m)

The Valley, Saturday

1. Benbatl (Saeed bin Suroor) O Murphy (3) 59kg

2. Humidor (Darren Weir) D Lane (7) 59kg

3. Kings Will Dream (Darren Weir) J Allen (4) 59kg

4. Avilius (James Cummings) G Schofield (1) 59kg

5. D’Argento (Chris Waller) K McEvoy (2) 57.5kg

6. Winx (Chris Waller) H Bowman (6) 57kg

7. Rostropovich (Aidan O’Brien) R Moore (8) 56kg

8. Savvy Coup (Michael & Matthew Pitman) C Johnson (5) 55.5kg