Winx makes it 20 in a row with George Main Stakes win at Randwick

She appeared to be having forty winks on the home turn but Winx made it 20 wins with consummate ease in the George Main Stakes (1600m) at Randwick. Third last and made to ease around a wall of horses straightening for the run to the winning post, Winx lengthened stride and reeled in Happy Clapper to win her 13th Group I race. Drifting in the betting ring to $1.12, Winx thundered past Happy Clapper ($15) to win idling down y 1.25 lengths with Foxplay ($21) third some 4.5 lengths in arrears.

Winning jockey Hugh Bowman sensed the speed was on and was conservative through the early and middle stages. “I expected to be closer. The pace was strong and at the top of the straight there was a lot of ground to make up but on the last two performances I knew she could do it today,” Bowman said.

Winx comes wide to win her 20th straight race, ridden by Hugh Bowman. Picture: Simon Bullard

Red Excitement, who threw a scare into the Winx camp at their previous start in the Chelmsford Stakes, led them but was quickly under pressure and knocked up. Happy Clapper put paid to Foxplay and Winx breezed on by in 1:33.65. Trainer Chris Waller did not want to over-analyse her performances, no doubt responding to suggestions from pundits that the mighty mare was not going as well as last season.

Waller also asked the media not to speculate his plans for Winx going forward. “Sydney has embraced her and she’ll have one more race here if she can and at some stage she’ll head to Melbourne,” Waller said. “We’ll lock it in next week. We’ll try and let everyone know what we’re doing. It’s not a guessing game, it’s not rocket science but the horse comes first.”

Champion mare Winx after the race. Picture: Tim Hunter.