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Winx doesn't need the Queen

Winx at Moonee Valley.(AAP Image/Joe Castro)
Roar Guru
22nd March, 2018
22

On August 1, the mighty mare Winx turns seven, meaning she is heading towards the end of a brilliant career.

The champion has given her three owners and Australian punters many a thrill. Her owners are obviously not short of a dollar, given that she has earned nearly $16 million up until now.

This weekend’s $1 million George Ryder Stakes marks the point where trainer Chris Waller decides along with the owners, whether to go to Royal Ascot or not. Public pressure is mounting on Waller and connections to take her to England and ‘take on the world’.

The racehorses I have part-owned wouldn’t even eat Winx’s dust, but I can assure you if I was lucky enough to own her, she wouldn’t be heading to England. The main reason is money.

Despite all the pomp and pageantry, the prizemoney at Royal Ascot is paltry by Australian and other countries standards. Assuming all goes well on Saturday, Winx will head to Randwick in a few weeks and race in the $4 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

After her usual winter break, she can resume in Sydney and then head to Melbourne. There, she can attempt a record fourth Cox Plate which is expected to boost its purse to $4 million this season.

Winning the $2 million Emirates Stakes on the final day of the marvellous Melbourne Spring Carnival would be a great swansong.

In comparison, the most likely target at Royal Ascot is the £600,000 ($1.09 million AUD) Queen Anne Stakes. Apparently, English racing authorities have been in Australia recently in an attempt to attract Winx to their carnival.

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I am not sure what bait they can use to attract, perhaps they are just asking nicely or trying to spin some story about the grandeur of the English event.

Australians seem to be fascinated with the Ascot meeting since Choisir won the Golden Jubilee 15 years ago. After the victory of Choisir, Scenic Blast, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Star Spangled Banner and Black Caviar have been victorious in either of the two major sprint races.

winx-hugh-bowman-horse-racing-cox-plate-2016

(AAP Image/Julian Smith)

The old sporting rivalry comes to the fore and we like to think we are beating the English on their home turf.

As the Ashes is quite often overrated in terms of importance, (this year the English were the fifth-rated Test nation out of ten) we think that Royal Ascot is the World Championships of Racing.

I understand there is great history and you might get to meet the Queen (a big deal for some), but there are plenty of bigger and better races for more money in other parts of the world.

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in France is often rated the best race in the world with a purse of $8 million. Similarly, the US Breeders Cup two-day meeting features 12 Group 1 races totalling $40 million.

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Arrogate, the American champion controversially ranked ahead of Winx by the IFHA, won the main race here in 2016. IFHA rated the Queen Anne stakes the 23rd-best race in the world last year in a list headed by the Arc in Paris.

The Dubai World Cup meeting features a main dirt race of $13 million, recently won by Arrogate and California Chrome. If racing on dirt is not to her liking, there are turf races worth up to $6.5 million.

It’s been a long time since Aussie horses have been competitive in the $7.6 million Japan Cup too. The highly lucrative International Day at Hong Kong features world-class racing. Australian horses were finding it very hard to win there before quarantine laws made it an unattractive venture.

The owners will do as they please but personally, Winx will not be proving to be the world’s best horse by winning at Royal Ascot. Don’t get sucked into thinking that beating the English is such a big deal.

A long journey for little prizemoney is too much of a risk. Leave her at home and let her become immortalised with a fourth Cox plate in Melbourne!

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