Winx confirmed her status as the best horse in Australia with a comfortable victory in the 2016 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill Gardens this afternoon.
Winx claimed her fifth win at Group 1 level with another masterful performance in the George Ryder Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart
Winx was a big drifter in the lead-up to the George Ryder Stakes and she was caught wide in the early stages of the race, with Hugh Bowman electing to slide up into the third on the champion mare.
Turn Me Loose took up the running in the early stages of the race, but he was one of the first horses beaten and Winx cruised up to her rivals at the 300 metre mark.
Stablemates Kermadec and Press Statement gave Winx a race, but she was far too good in the final stages of the race and she led home a Chris Waller trifecta to record her eighth straight victory.
Waller has admitted throughout the 2016 Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival that he has struggled with the pressure that comes with training an undoubted superstar like Winx and he was delighted to see her get the job done again today.
“It is very special, especially on a day like today,” Waller said.
“This is my home track and it means a lot.
“The other two are superstars in their own right.
“Press Statement is the next superstar when he fully develops and Kermadec was the Doncaster winner last year and doing a fantastic job.
“That is what Kermadec did in the race last year before going on to win a Doncaster and I am proud of all three.
“It is well and truly over.”
Jockey Hugh Bowman believes that the George Ryder Stakes is the one of the best races in the country and he said that it was a very special feeling to win it with the horse that he believes is the best he has even ridden.
The leading hoop admitted that he was surprised that Kermadec was able to go with Winx when he asked her for an extra effort, but he was always confident that the star mare would prove too good in the end.
“This is one of the best races in the country because of the field that it attracts every year and it is a genuine world class Group 1 event,” Bowman said.
“He showed her dominance here this afternoon and it is just an honour to be a part of it.
“I was a little bit more apprehensive today than in recent starts just because of the draw and the setup of the race, but that is what a horse that is better than the rest can do.
“You can make use of them in two spots and I had to do that to get my position in the early part.
“She showed her dominant in the last 200 metres and I was surprised when Kermadec sprinted with me on the rail, but she left him in her wake in the last 100 metres.
“It was just me and her and it was just ever so sweet.”
Winx is expected to have her next race start in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), but Waller left open the possibility that she could run in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Royal Randwick in a fortnight.
