WINX: THE FAREWELL TOUR

“Winx: The Farewell Tour” got underway at Rosehill with the first of two intended barrier trials. The trial got off to a messy start as the seven-year-old stumbled out of the barriers under Hugh Bowman, giving the field a three-length start. Bowman then just let her lob along behind the pack around the bend and all the way down the course proper, eventually finishing seventh, beaten five and three-quarter lengths. What was interesting was the way Bowman let her continue on past the winning post, as if the 900m trial was short of what was desired. The trial was won in emphatic style by Endless Drama (Lope De Vega), who finished two and three quarter lengths ahead of Showtime (Snitzel) and a race-fit Alizee (Sepoy).
The other trial for Group and Listed class horses at Rosehill was won by Brad Widdup’s tough three-year-old Sandbar (Snitzel). Glamour galloper Trapeze Artist (Snitzel) was beaten a length into fourth on his return to the track as he heads to an April defense of his Gr.1 T J Smith Stakes crown.
Post the trial, which drew a throng of media both racing and mainstream, both Bowman and trainer Chris Waller were satisfied with Winx’s performance, with the latter reiterating that connections were taking it one race at a time and they would have no hesitation in pulling the plug on her career at the first signs she was not at the top of her game. Winx will trial again in a fortnight before she has her first run this campaign in the Gr.2 Apollo Stakes at Randwick on 16th February, when she will attempt to make it 30 wins in a row. Her owners Peter Tighe, Debbie Kepitis and Richard Treweeke had a busy week. For the first few days of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale, they had their usual table in the auditorium before jetting off to Santa Anita to accept the Secretariat VoxPopuli award for the world’s most popular racehorse. As far as ambassadors for racing, and for that matter Australian sport in general, one would struggle to think of three better.