Winx equalled the 14 straight wins of the mighty Phar Lap taking out the 2017 Apollo Stakes first-up at the rescheduled Royal Randwick meeting on Monday as she was expected to do.
Winx ran the perfect first-up autumn run to win the 2017 Apollo Stakes at Royal Randwick on Monday. Photo: Steve Hart.
Chris Waller’s glamour mare continued her dominant record enjoying back-to-back victories in the $250,000 Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) after taking out the same race in her resuming run last autumn.
In her first run back since the record-breaking eight length Cox Plate success of 2016, the champion Street Cry five-year-old gave the race fans what they turned out to see with the John O’Shea-trained Hartnell ($13) setting for second again.
The $1.16 favourite in Apollo Stakes betting wasn’t great out of the gates and jockey Hugh Bowman settled her well back in the second half of the field.
That missed kick is due to nervous first-up energy according to Bowman who said she improved and relaxed the further in her prep she goes.
“She didn’t jump into stride,” Bowman itted.
“But once she gets into her prep she gets a bit more relaxed [in the gates].”
Shiraz was quick to jump and led the field around as Bowman bided his time on Winx, improving as the race progressed.
Waller’s promising import Endless Drama in just his second Australian start travelled sweetly throughout in third just ahead of the Lindsay Park-trained Dibayani.
Perennial placegetter to Winx, Hartnell was tracking midfield in his first run since the Melbourne Cup third in the spring.
Approaching the straight Bowman started to make his move on Winx with a bit of work to do by the 600m.
“It was a genuinely run 1400m,” Bowman said.
“With a genuine speed I was able to travel really comfortably throughout.
“They left me a bit flat footed at the 600m. If I was on anything else I might have been a bit worried.”
Once she got into daylight heading for home, nothing was going to stop her as she charged forward and hit the front 200m out from the line.
In another effortless display Winx cruised home to defeat Hartnell, who was very good again, by 2.5 lengths showing off her scintillating sprint.
“I just encouraged her to pick up the ones in front,” Bowman said.
“Then in the blink of an eye it was all over.
“She’s a racehorse. She’s an athlete.
“Chris has done a great job getting her ready to perform at this level today.
“She’s an exciting piece of work and it’s a privilege to be a part of it.”
Endless Drama ($31) rounded out the Apollo Stakes trifecta in a top first-up run heading towards the Doncaster Mile on April 1 having done plenty of work throughout.
“Very humbling experience to say the least,” Waller said post-win.
“It’s a huge privilege to be a part of her career.
“Hugh just does a fantastic job, he just makes it look easy.
“We know that when Hughie asks her to extend she’ll quicken.”
Winx has now won eight from 12 at Randwick, four from five over the 1400m and 18 from 24 overall during her stunning career.
The Apollo Stakes prize money also boosted her overall winnings to up over $9.49 million.
Winx will now race second-up defending her $600,000 Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) title at Randwick on February 25 before a Rosehill run on Golden Slipper Day on March 18 in the $1 million Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m).
Her final autumn run will then take place on April 8 during The Championships in the $4 million Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), a race Waller has won twice before with My Kingdom Of Fife (2011) and Reliable Man (2013).
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2017 Apollo Stakes Results & Finishing Order
Randwick Race 8 – 13/02/2017
| Place | # | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Margin | Br. | Wgt. | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | WINX | Chris Waller | Hugh Bowman | – | 2 | 57kg | $1.14F |
| 2 | 1 | HARTNELL (GB) | John O’Shea | James Doyle | 2.8L | 5 | 59kg | $12 |
| 3 | 7 | ENDLESS DRAMA (IRE) | Chris Waller | Tye Angland | 6.8L | 12 | 59kg | $26 |
| 4 | 5 | DIBAYANI (IRE) | David & B Hayes & T Dabernig | Corey Brown | 9L | 4 | 59kg | $16 |
| 5 | 6 | MAGIC HURRICANE (IRE) | John O’Shea | Christian Reith | 9.4L | 10 | 59kg | $201 |
| 6 | 2 | PREFERMENT (NZ) | Chris Waller | Jason Collett | 9.7L | 6 | 59kg | $201 |
| 7 | 3 | LEEBAZ (NZ) | Michael, Wayne & John Hawkes | Tommy Berry | 10L | 9 | 59kg | $151 |
| 8 | 4 | LIBRAN (IRE) | Chris Waller | Brenton Avdulla | 10.1L | 11 | 59kg | $151 |
| 9 | 9 | SHIRAZ | Kim Waugh | Joshua Parr | 10.2L | 7 | 59kg | $26 |
| 10 | 14 | LASQUETI SPIRIT | Lee Curtis | Jay Ford | 10.6L | 8 | 53.5kg | $201 |
| 11 | 12 | AMBIENCE | John O’Shea | Ms Kathy O’Hara | 11.8L | 1 | 57kg | $201 |
| 12 | 8 | SACRED MASTER (NZ) | Chris Waller | Glyn Schofield | 19.7L | 3 | 59kg | $101 |
| – | 10 | SAVVY NATURE (NZ) | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | – | 0 | – | – |
| – | 13 | GLOBAL GLAMOUR | Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott | Tim Clark | – | 0 | – | – |
