THIRD HORSE OF THE YEAR TITLE FOR WINX

Winx (Street Cry) has joined Black Caviar and Sunline in the exclusive club of triple winners of the Australian Racehorse of the Year, having claimed the premier award at a star-studded ceremony at Forum Melbourne. The world’s highest-rated horse took home three prizes to add to her trophy cabinet, having also claimed the 2017/18 Victorian Racehorse of the Year and Champion Middle Distance awards. Her trainer Chris Waller, regular jockey Hugh Bowman and co-owners Peter Tighe, Debbie Kepitis and Richard Treweeke were all on stage to accept the awards on behalf of the mare, who was the runaway winner of all three categories after winning eight straight races during the 2017/18 season, six of them at Gr.1 level. Waller also received the Bart Cummings Award for the most Gr.1 winners (13) trained in the season, and Bowman was presented with the equivalent award for jockeys, having registered nine wins at the elite level.

The six remaining awards were spread evenly across other stables, with Estijaab (Snitzel) named Champion Two-Year-Old after her dominant win in the Gr.1 Golden Slipper for the Hawkes training team. Anthony Freedman’s Shoals (Fastnet Rock), who won Gr.1 races in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, saw off some stiff competition to land the prize for Champion Three-Year Old Filly. The Champion Three-Year-Old Male award went the way of the Gerald Ryan-trained Trapeze Artist (Snitzel), a winner of three Gr.1s, including the T J Smith Stakes. Trapeze Artist was also a finalist in the Champion Sprinter category, but missed out to another son of Snitzel, Redzel, last year’s Gr.1 Everest winner who is saddled by Peter and Paul Snowden. The Lloyd Williams-owned Rekindling (High Chaparral) landed the Champion Stayer award after delivering Gr.1 Melbourne Cup glory to Joseph O’Brien, the youngest trainer to win Australia’s most famous race. Gold Medals (Elvstroem) won the Champion Jumper award, having registered back-to-back victories in the Brierly Steeplechase and the Grand Annual Steeplechase during Warrnambool’s May Racing Carnival for his local trainer Symon Wilde.
The other trophy handed out on the night was for Champion Sire of the Year, which went to Snitzel, whose progeny, including Redzel and Trapeze Artist, amassed more than A$29m during the season.