Winx On The Cusp Of Greatness

Winx will chase her ninth straight win in the Doncaster Mile at Royal Randwick on Saturday and the superstar mare will join a group of the greatest ever mares if she is successful in the Group 1 event.

Winx confirmed her status as the best horse in Australia when she beat a star-studded field to take out the George Ryder Stakes, but she will go to another level entirely if she is able to become the first horse since Super Impose in 1991 to win the Epsom Handicap and Doncaster Mile in the same season.

Outside of Black Caviar and Makybe Diva, Sunline and More Joyous are the best mares that have been seen in Australia since the turn of the century and the Doncaster Mile played a key role in both of their legacies.

Sunline was already a Group 1 winner ahead of the 1999 edition of the Doncaster Mile following her victory in the Flight Stakes the previous spring, but it was her win in that race that showed she was a genuine world-beater.

She returned to the Doncaster Mile in 2000 and was narrowly denied by Over, but she was able to cement her legacy as one of the best mares in racing history when she carried 58 kilograms – one and a half kilograms more than Winx on Saturday – to a very popular victory in 2002.

More Joyous had already won six Group 1 races ahead of the Doncaster Mile, but a win in a big handicap over the famous Randwick mile was still missing from her racing resume.

The Gai Waterhouse-trained mare went into the race as a clear favourite following her wins in the Canterbury Stakes and Queen Of The Turf Stakes, but it was her victory carrying 57.5 kilograms in the Doncaster Mile that allowed her to join Sunline in the pantheon of the great mares before she enhanced her legacy even further with an outstanding victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

Many would argue that Winx has already done enough to be considered alongside the likes of Sunline and More Joyous and there is definitely logic behind that argument.

Her record-breaking win in the Cox Plate along ensured that she will be remembered for many years to come and she already has five Group 1 wins on her racing resume, but a win in what is Sydney’s most historic race would confirm her status as a genuine equine superstar.

Winx is the shortest-priced favourite in the Doncaster Mile in 90 years and it would be a coup for racing if she can continue her winning streak to maintain her status as the golden girl of Australian racing.