This Saturday at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, the WFA championship of Australia, the G1 W.S. Cox Plate over 2040m and worth AU$3,000,000, draws together cracking field of ten runners. The headline act is of course the mighty Winx who'll be looking at back to back wins in the race. She'll be seeking to add another G1 win to the eight she already owns and will probably start slightly in the red. To date, the runners between them have amassed over AU$27,000,000 in prizemoney. The field has amassed 45 Group wins, 24 of them at G1. 1. X85. HAPPY TRAILS. (10) Ben Melham. 59kg. 100-1. A light of other days who finished 10th last year. 6th when well beaten by Hartnell last up in the G1 Turnbull. Ran home fairly. Before that average run in G1 Makye Diva. Looks out of his depth. 2. 212. BLACK HEART BART. (6) Brad Rawiller. 59kg. 16-1. Racing in great heart. Forced to lead three horse field in G1 Caulfield Stks. Winx sat on him. Probably worked a bit to hard from too far out allowing the mare a nice shot at him. Fought well the last furlong but out gunned. Has the pace to get across from the alley and get decent sit. Should be close on the bend but a lot will depend on whether the stars hit traffic. 3. 111. HARTNELL. (7) James McDonald. 59kg. 5-2. In cracking form, unbeaten this time in. Gave last week's G1 Caulfield Cup winner a thrashing in the G1 Turnbull. Settled fifth then came four deep on corner to power right away. Has won his last three by a combined 21L, all at Group level. Will probably follow Black Heart Bart across and look to get one off the fence. With a clear run, he's expected to be the main danger to Winx. 4. 121. HAURIKI. (8) Dwayne Dunn. 59kg. 17-1. Won G1 $1,000,000 G1 Epsom Handicap in Sydney last up after missing the kick. Huge effort after settling 14L off pace. 2nd beaten just over a length by Winx in G1 George Main in Syd before that. Stablemate of Hartnell, who's been deserted by McDonald. A very good race horse who can't be ignored. 5. 564. HAPPY CLAPPER. (4) Brenton Avdulla. 59kg. 66-1. 4th behind Hauraki in Epsom. Came from midfield to finish a half length from winner. Been unlucky in running of late, but shows a lot of heart. A good alley might assist him here, but on paper, others look a bit too good. 6. 121. VADAMOS. Fr. (2). Joao Moreira. 59kg. 11-1. Andre Fabre trained raider who's expected to run a bold race. Bolted in with the G1 Moulin De Longchamp last time out. They had every chance to run him down in the straight, but he was much too strong. Has been working well and many think he may jump straight to the front from the 2 slot. The magic man is to fly in for the ride. Looks decent value. 7. 155. AWESOME ROCK. (5) Stephen Baster. 59kg. 66-1. Beaten 1.5L in G1 Toorak when 5th last time. Came wide from a long way back and ran on strongly. Before that, began badly when 5th to Black Heart Bart. Again ran on well, but looks out of his depth here. 8. 111. WINX. (3) Hugh Bowman. 57kg. 5-4. Smashed them here last year when she secured a miracle run along the fence. Has the perfect alley to get the run of the race. Winner of her last 12, all Group class, 8 of which G1. She's been easing into races of late, but taking a few strides to hit top gear when asked, then it's whoosh. She should win, but could those few strides bring her undone? They'll lift the roof off the grandstand if she wins. 9. X43. LUCIA VALENTINA. N.Z. (9) Kerrin McEvoy. 57kg. 20-1. Third in G1 Underwood behind Black Heart Bart. Settled well back and took an age to wind up, but when she found her top, she charged home to be beaten 2.6L. Before that, sat on Winx in Syd but out sprinted over a trip much too short for her. She has a stout engine, but even the 2040m might prove a bit too short for her. 10. 621. YANKEE ROSE. (1) Dean Yendall. 47.5kg. 12-1. Top flight filly who became the first of her sex to beat the boys in the G1 Spring Champion Stakes in Sydney. Settled 8L off them in running, then switched to the outside in the straight and murdered them in the run to the post. An amazing run. Being a three year old filly, she gets thrown in with just 47.5kg on her back. It wouldn't be a surprise to see her figure in the finish.
2016 TURNBULL STAKES HARTNELL Winx Randwick Stakes 2016 10 Wins in a row! Difficult to see Winx getting beaten
Yankee Rose makes history. She's in white and blue and fourth last when settling. http://racing.racingnsw.com.au/Free...ategory=Professional&VideoFileType=FullReplay
I see that the third was carry like a stone and half less than Winx and nearly 2stone less than Hartnell that is some allowance
Nick Smith, the recruit man for Ascot is hot to get her over there, but I'm not sure they'll go. After today's race, her trainer said something like, "If they want to beat her they can come here." But you never know. I hope she does travel.
Absolutely awesome. Hugh Bowman knew exactly what he had under him, hardly touched her. Love to see her in Europe. Thanks for video clip, could not get replay myself this time.
