Winx 'most vulnerable' at 1400 metres: Bowman

1 year ago

Superstar mare Winx will on Saturday kick off what will almost certainly be the final campaign of her glittering career when she lines up in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes at Randwick.

The star seven-year-old is then likely to have another three runs; the G1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) on March 2, the G1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) on March 23 and the G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at The Championships on April 13.

Not surprisingly, jockey Hugh Bowman expects the darling of Australian racing will triumph in all four appearances, which would extend her phenomenal win streak to 33.

But ahead of her first-up run, the leading hoop says the 1400 metres of Saturday's Apollo Stakes is where Winx is most out of her comfort zone.

"I think she's probably at her most vulnerable over these shorter distances because the tempo doesn’t suit her as much as the races over further," Bowman said on SEN's Whateley.

Winx has had eight starts at 1400 metres for six wins and a second, and at her most recent outing at the trip, at Randwick last August, she won the G1 Winx Stakes by two lengths.

Bowman reckons the quality of opposition that Winx will face on Saturday isn't as strong as what she has met in years gone by.

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Winx has won the Apollo Stakes twice (2016 and 2017), both with Bowman aboard.

"I don’t think there's as much depth in this race as what there has been previously when she's run over this distance," Bowman said.

"With the exception of Happy Clapper… obviously Tom Melbourne was dynamic in winning last start, but he beat Flow, he didn’t beat Winx.

"I just think this race personally probably lacks the depth of the races she usually runs in first-up."

Bowman has partnered Winx to 28 wins from 29 rides.

The Apollo Stakes will be broadcast live on 1116SEN at 3:30pm AEDST on Saturday.

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