Latest News

By Brad Gray
At Royal Randwick

The first word Hugh Bowman uttered after he jumped off Winx having put the champion mare through her paces in a Royal Randwick exhibition gallop is all you need to know really. “Amazing.”

“She felt good, pretty strong today,” Bowman continued.

“It was her first time in public this preparation so she was up for the occasion. It was quite windy too which ignited her. I was hoping to let her stride a bit more than I did but the ground is extremely firm here today so I kept hold of her.

“It was a good exercise and I'm looking forward to the second trial now.”

The champ @winx_horse is in the house @royalrandwick ahead of an exhibition gallop pic.twitter.com/TjxfFDkoiP

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) August 4, 2018

Standard Winx procedure is two trials before an exhibition gallop the Saturday before her race assignment. The seven-year-old will still trial on Tuesday at Rosehill Gardens in a star-studded heat including Hartnell, Alizee, Ace High, D’argento and Unforgotten but it will be the last time we see Winx until she steps out in the $500,000 G1 Winx Stakes (1400m) on August 18 at Royal Randwick.

“I thought bringing her here would help stimulate her without having to go too hard whereas this morning at Rosehill I would have had to go quite quick to get the same energy and benefit from the workout,” said Waller, explaining the minor change in her standard preparation.

“Everything is in order. The only thing we have to worry about is her safety. We don’t have to make her run faster or do anything different. We know where she is at and she is perfect in terms of her body weight, breathing and her attitude.”

Winx clocking 48.16s for her last 800m in her @royalrandwick gallop #GoWinx pic.twitter.com/F399vFFSlF

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) August 4, 2018

In a second exhibition gallop, there was nothing between Invincible Star and Siege Of Quebec, from the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott yard, with the pair slipping home their last 600m in 34.58s.

Siege Of Quebec and Invincible Star running home in 34.58s for the last 600m in their gallop @GaiWaterhouse1 pic.twitter.com/eFS4BUxOI7

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) August 4, 2018

Check out all the results and replays for Royal Randwick on Saturday.