Hugh Bowman may have only unleashed the full power of Winx once in her remarkable winning run of 28 but could he and Chris Waller be out to make a point in the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
There is no doubt that the Valley is a favourite circuit for Winx. She has been there on three occasions for three Cox Plates, twice running a track record in the 2000m classic.
She’s apples: Hugh Bowman could look for a grand final romp on Winx in the Cox Plate on SaturdayCredit:AAP
She leans into the bends and loves the testing uphill run from the 800m mark. She breaks her rivals before the final turn.
She won by big spaces in her first two Cox Plates. Last year was a bit different but she did enough to hold a late challenge from Humidor with a gap to the rest. There was the feeling Bowman had a little left in the tank.
The questioning of of her and Australian racing this week clearly riled Waller and with a proper European weight-for-age performer in Benbatl here to challenge could it be the day for Bowman to extend her to the limit.
The champion hoop says it has only happened once over 1400m in the 2017 Warwick Stakes. There were circumstances that led to Bowman letting the engine roar after she missed the start by five lengths.
“It was obvious by then how good she was, and I was riding her really quite arrogantly all the time,” Bowman said.
“I said it to a few people if I could sit right off the back of them one day we would see her at her very best. My wish was granted that day.
“Once I felt it [Winx’s best] I didn’t need that again.
“That was a great feeling, the way she went that day. I actually didn’t feel nervous in the race to be perfectly honest. When she missed I wasn’t too concerned and I felt in control because of my faith in her.
“I get more concerned these days when I watch it back because it was so close.”
She is capable of producing sectionals that other horses just can’t match. This is grand final day and the first job will always to be to win.
But, as he did in the 2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Bowman could let her flow to the line with a big margin.
‘‘I don’t whip her too often, but I wanted that supreme effort today, the grand final,’’ Bowman said after that win of more than five lengths.
In the Cox Plate Bowman has always been there to put the pressure on from the 800m mark with Winx.
I wanted that supreme effort … the grand final.
It melts even the toughest of opposition and those that go with her often feel the effect for months after the race.
She has set her challenges through her career and her last win in the Turnbull was another where she made the improbable looked routine.
While there was feeling from those watching the race Winx might be there for the beating, Bowman was calm until 1000 metres from home and that returned by the 300m mark.
No worries: jockey Hugh Bowman said he knew Winx was home 300m from the finish in the Turnbull Stakes.Credit:AAP
“The way the race unfolded [in the Turnbull] I would have had to be pretty assertive not to go to the fence,” Bowman said. “At 1000m I was concerned because there was no pressure and I was in position [back last on the fence] where I could do anything about it.
“Her champion qualities showed once again there. By the 300m mark when everyone else was concerned I was very comfortable that we would win – that’s what she does.”
So, with her main rival Benbatl likely to set the speed, Winx will probably only be a couple of lengths from him in the run. It might be the first half of the race that is more important to Benbatl’s winning chances if he can make it moderately run and be the one to build pressure on Winx from the front.
“Luck is less of factor in a small field. The more pressure the better that’s when Winx performs at her best,” Waller said this week.
Winx enjoys a strong tempo because she can hold it for longer than any horse she has met. If Benbatl can get a soft time in front it will turn the tables and have her chasing a smart horse. But she has shown she can overcome those odds as well.
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