Super star mare Winx will have eight challengers when she lines up for her twenty-third straight win in Saturday’s 2018 Group 1 $600,000 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) at Randwick.
Winx, above, will kick off her 2018 Autumn Carnival in the Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick. Photo by Ultimate Racing Photos.
Winx has drawn barrier six in the nine horse Chipping Norton Stakes field with Hugh Bowman partnering the Chris Waller trained mare again.
Winx’s 2018 Sydney Autumn Carnival campaign was scheduled to kick off in the Group 2 $250,000 The Star Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick on February 17 but Waller put back her reappearance by two weeks because of Bowman’s unavailability because of a careless riding suspension.
Winx won a specially convened 1200m barrier trial against five of her stablemates in between races at Randwick on Apollo Stakes Race Day and Waller said he has her fit enough to tackle the 1600m of the Chipping Norton Stakes first up.
“The trial has brought her on and she is ready to go to the Chipping Norton,” Waller told AAP.
“She has had a very good week since then and we couldn’t be happier.”
Winx will be having her first run back since making history during the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival by scoring a third consecutive win in the Group 1 $3m Ladbrokes Cox Plate (2040m) at The Valley which equalled Kingston Town’s long standing record of three straight Cox Plate wins and took her winning sequence to twenty-two.
Waller will also saddle Who Shot Thebarman and Libran in the Chipping Norton Stakes and both stayers will be first up as they aim towards the longer feature races later on during the Autumn Carnival.
Libran has drawn the rails with Brenton Avdulla to ride while Who Shot Thebarman will jump from barrier three for Tye Angland.
Winx is at the unbackable odds of $1.08 at Ladbrokes.com.au for the Chipping Norton Stakes with her nearest rival in the betting being the Kris Lees trained Prized Icon at $13.
Prized Icon has drawn barrier four with regular rider Glyn Schofield in the saddle again.
Schofield has been aboard Prized Icon for the majority of his starts which includes a win in the 2016 Group 1 $1.5m AAMI Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington as well as the More Than Ready four year old’s two runs this time in for a second in the Listed $150,000 Carrington Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on January 27 followed by a fourth in the Apollo Stakes.
