Chris Waller claimed his eighth Winx Stakes victory with a late-charging Via Sistina taking the now Group 1 $1 million race at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
2024 Winx Stakes winner Via Sistina led an all-Chris Waller trifecta in the spring’s opening Group 1. Photo: Steve Hart.
The talented mare showcased her class with a powerful finish, edging out stablemate Zougotcha by a narrow, half-head margin.
Fangirl, Waller’s defending champion, finished third after covering extra ground as the beaten favourite rounding out the Winx Stakes trifecta.
Despite queries over the shorter distance which saw her get out to a generous $11 starting price in Winx Stakes betting, the imported Via Sistina delivered a stunning performance, securing her third Group 1 win and second in Australia following her first-up Ranvet success in the autumn.
Waller was full of post-win praise for both the mare and her hoop Kerrin McEvoy.
“Obviously, she’s a very smart horse, and yeah, privileged to be training horses like her,” he told the media.
“She’s a pickup addition to the stable. The others are stalwarts and she’s beaten them today, but it’ll be a match race I’m sure in a few weeks’ time.
“It was a beautiful ride from Kerrin [McEvoy] he didn’t go around a horse, saved ground and had plenty of horse topping the famous Randwick rise, yeah, she was strong all the way to the line.”
Jockey McEvoy praised Via Sistina’s competitive spirit and Waller’s training efforts, noting that the mare’s victory in the Winx Stakes opens up exciting possibilities for the spring campaign.
“Great win, she’s just a winner basically, I’ve only sat on her once, which was last Saturday, and she was on her own, but she’s just a competitor,” McEvoy said.
“Chris [Waller] just said ‘look, she’s in really good form’. The unknown was 1400m in this grade, and first up.
“She really motored the last furlong, so fantastic training effort to see her do that first up at that level, and the world is her oyster this prep now.”
Via Sistina is now the favorite for the Group 1 Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 26.
2024 Winx Stakes Results
| Finish | No. | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Bar. | Weight | Penalty | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | VIA SISTINA (IRE) | Chris Waller | Kerrin McEvoy | 7 | 57kg | $11 | |||
| 2 | 9 | ZOUGOTCHA | Chris Waller | Tommy Berry | 0.07L | 6 | 57kg | $6.50 | ||
| 3 | 6 | FANGIRL | Chris Waller | James McDonald | 0.49L | 9 | 57kg | $2.40F | ||
| 4 | 10 | SEMANA | Ciaron Maher | Dylan Gibbons | 1.33L | 5 | 57kg | $9.50 | ||
| 5 | 2 | DETONATOR JACK (NZ) | Ciaron Maher | Jason Collett | 1.65L | 2 | 59kg | $11 | ||
| 6 | 12 | ZARDOZI | James Cummings | Zac Lloyd (a) | 2.31L | 1 | 56.5kg | $26 | ||
| 7 | 5 | RIFF ROCKET | Chris Waller | Nash Rawiller | 2.76L | 12 | 58.5kg | $9.50 | ||
| 8 | 1 | BUCKAROO (GB) | Chris Waller | Joshua Parr | 3.36L | 8 | 59kg | $61 | ||
| 9 | 8 | ATISHU (NZ) | Chris Waller | Tyler Schiller | 3.37L | 10 | 57kg | $26 | ||
| 10 | 11 | TROPICAL SQUALL | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Adam Hyeronimus | 4.3L | 11 | 56.5kg | $8.50 | ||
| 11 | 4 | JUST FINE (IRE) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Ms Rachel King | 4.34L | 4 | 59kg | $61 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ZEYREK (FR) | Michael, John & Wayne Hawkes | Reece Jones | 4.47L | 3 | 59kg | $151 |
Table Credit: Racing Australia.
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