Winx secures season-ending glory by winning Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick

The current star of Australian horse racing was making her season farewell on the second day of The Championships and bidding for her 17th consecutive win, and she did not disappoint the biggest crowd seen at Randwick in the modern era thanks to a superlative five length victory.

Winx’s old rival Hartnell again had to settle for runners-up by coming in second with Sense Of Occasion a long neck away third.

A record crowd of 26,801 made their way to Randwick for the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes Day, a figure which eclipsed the previous best of 25,535 which saw Black Caviar win her 25th and final race in the 2013 TJ Smith Stakes.

A highlight in Australia’s sporting and social calendar, the second day of the grand finals of Australian racing featured four Group 1 races, including the headlining race and the one they all wanted to see, the $4million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

It was another strong field but jockey Hugh Bowman had no concerns, giving Winx a faultless ride by settling one off the fence with cover midfield then taking her wide from the 600 metre mark to avoid trouble.

From that point, the race was merely a procession as she opened up a margin on her chasing rivals before romping home to win in stunning fashion to send the records tumbling.

A 17th consecutive victory for Winx now leaves her trailing only Black Caviar (25 wins), Gloaming and Desert Gold (19) and Ajax (18) for the longest winning streaks. She has now won 12 Group 1 races during her winning run, winning in distances ranging from 1100 metres to 2200 metres, and is now closing in on Black Caviar’s all-time record of 15 majors.

Victory also meant she scored her sixth Group 1 win of the season, equaling the records of Kingston Town ((1at979-80), Weekend Hussler (2007-08) and Black Caviar (2010-11) for most majors in a racing year.

Whilst Winx and jockey Bowman made it look easy, the mare’s trainer Chris Waller fought a battle with his nerves.

“It is a big relief,” Waller said afterwards. “I’m a racing fan and I am as much a fan of Winx as anybody. I’ve been pretty nervous for a about a year now and I was nervous today.

“I know we’ve all done what we can do to have her fit and well but you can’t actually ask her how she’s feeling and one day she will get beaten.”

Bowman said, “I wouldn’t say it was a high-pressure race today.

“Everyone found their spot and even slowed it up mid-race and it was a bit of a sprint home.

“I don’t think you see the best of her when it is that sort of race. She is obviously still good and she wheeled passed them at the top of the straight.

“Honestly I think when she gets in a high-pressure race, when there is a lot of pace from the start like there was in last year’s Cox Plate, that’s when you see the best of her.”

For Hartnell, it was the fourth time he has run second in seven clashes with Winx and despite taking his earnings to over $4 million, he remains very much in Winx’s shadow.
In addition to being the Official Timekeeper and Watch of the Royal Randwick racecourse and the Australian Turf Club, Swiss watch brand Longines was the Title Partner and timed the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes event.

The triumph of Winx in the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes was slightly dampened by the Sydney Cup being called off and declared a no-result.

Racing NSW stewards made the decision to abandon the $2 million feature after Almoonqith and Who Shot Thebarman collided on the turn leading out of home straight.

While some jockeys in the 14-horse field realised the race had been called off, Corey Brown was unaware and thought he had won aboard Charlie Appleby-trained Godolphin runner Polarisation, only for the race to be abandoned by the stewards.