She knows; where the winning post is, what she is out on the racetrack to do – even how to pose in a photo shoot – and jockey Hugh Bowman is happy to be along for the ride as Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) attempts to extend her incredible winning sequence to 31 on Saturday.
Bowman doesn't go as far as to use the word passenger to describe his role in the streak, which should continue with a record-equaling fourth G1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick, but he says his is a support role and that the champion mare now has a race awareness all of her own.
"With the maturity and knowledge of where she is these days, she could almost do it without me, in fact I'm sure she could," Bowman said with a laugh. "But somebody has got to ride her, so I guess I'll have to do it."
Hugh Bowman and Winx after her 30th straight victory
When asked if Winx was aware of where the winning post is in a race, Bowman was adamant, "oh, she knows," he said.
"She is the most competitive individual I have ever had anything to do with." - Hugh Bowman
"When I really feel it is when there's a few in front of me and she really strides and attacks to get to the front," he added. "She is the most competitive individual I have ever had anything to do with, you can see the ears go back and it's smooth and finesse, but it's also power." "
"Along with her ability, it's that will to win and that extreme purpose she moves with that sets her apart."
The close ones
Bowman recalled the 2017 G1 Warwick Stakes where a bombed start saw the mare trail the field by four lengths, and the streak almost ended at 17, before Winx extended to nab then-stablemate Foxplay (Foxwedge).
"When we missed the start, I could see Ecuador (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) but I couldn't see Foxplay," Bowman said. "I was casually wheeling in Ecuador, knowing I had him covered, and I got to him, but Foxplay was another length in front and Winx just found again. She did that, I had her balanced and poised, but you could see the effort she put in late."
Watch: Winx win the 2017 G1 Warwick S.
Then there was the following start, number 19 of the streak, when Winx pinned those ears back again and gunned down tearaway leader Red Excitement (Excites) in the 2017 G2 Chelmsford Stakes.
"I dropped the whip, but she just chased him down and won pulling up. No other horse could have possibly done that." - Hugh Bowman
"She breaks the rules," Bowman said, who had dropped the whip at the top of the straight that day. "Red Excitement was about six lengths in front, I dropped the whip, but she just chased him down and won pulling up. No other horse could have possibly done that."
Uncanny awareness
An early morning press call three days before raceday has become a part of the Winx routine and there were more than 20 media members on hand, including mainstream TV outlets, to watch Bowman take the 7-year-old through her paces at 5.30am on Thursday.
Trainer Chris Waller said that Winx is not only blessed with an "uncanny" awareness, but that she is getting smarter.
"I would say if you were comparing her to a person she is a little bit smarter, she knows where the winning post is and she has just become used to winning and it has become habit," he said. "Just the fact that she knows what she is doing is the most uncanny part of Winx. I think that helps Hugh get out of situations... and helps me. Whether she is a little bit over done or underdone, or doesn't have a perfect preparation, she just seems to pull it all together and make us look pretty good. She knows her job better than ever."
Even off-track commitments, which have become ever more frequent as the Winx phenomenon has grown, have become second nature for the veteran.
"She is different to most horses," Waller said. "All horses have different attributes and some might be better than others but she is the complete model. After the races, when she is in her box at home she is happy to meet kids and be pampered, probably more so than she ever has in her career."
"After the races, when she is in her box at home she is happy to meet kids and be pampered, probably more so than she ever has in her career." - Chris Waller
And when Waller calls Winx a "model", he might mean literally after a recent example of that uncanny awareness.
"She had a model shoot for a big fashion company a couple of weeks ago, and we were all on tenterhooks wondering how she would cope with it, but she just posed out there and strut her stuff," Waller said. "She didn't move a muscle, the models were petrified of working with a horse, but she mixed in with them and I think that's a good example of what this horse does. She does what she is required to do and she is happy doing it. That's Winx."
