Australian wondermare Winx, ranked by Longines as the best racehorse in the world, avoided a trip to Royal Ascot this year in order to go for an unprecedented fourth successive Cox Plate and she is set to make her comeback in a race named in her honour.

The Street Cry mare will resume in the A$500,000 Group 1 Winx Stakes over 1400 metres at Royal Randwick on August 18, Racing New South Wales reported. Formerly known as the Group 2 Warwick Stakes, Winx was successful in the 2016 and 2017 editions and it was consequently upgraded to Group 1 status and named in her honour. Prior to the Winx Stakes, the six-year-old will run in two barrier trials, the first one being late this month.

Winx (sahracing.com)

“She’ll run over 1400m first up,” trainer Chris Waller told Racing NSW. “The Winx Stakes is where she’ll run. It makes it a little bit easier to prepare her here in Sydney.”

The winner of her last 25 trips to the post, the dark bay has pleased Waller in her recent trackwork with regular rider Hugh Bowman aboard.

Waller said, “Her attitude and body language is great. We’ve been training her long enough to almost be used to it. The first year was just like training any other horse, the second year the pressure was on with the expectation to keep her performing. The third year she went to a whole new level again, getting close to Black Caviar’s records and other records, but now she has reached her fourth year, it’s just like last year but we’ve been there before. I’m actually feeling quite relaxed about her.”

On March 24 this year Winx set a new worldwide mark for Group 1 wins when she hit 17 in Rosehill’s Group 1 George Ryder Stakes over 1500m. Three weeks earlier when winning the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes over 1600m at Randwick she had broken Black Caviar’s Australian Group 1 record, Then in her last start on April 14 in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2000m at Randwick she equalled Black Caviar’s Australian record of 25 consecutive wins, just five years and one day after the latter had been retired unbeaten. Winx was defeated six times as a three-year-old but her 25 consecutive victories were all in stakes races, including 18 Group 1s, six Group 2s and one Group 3. On 17 May 2017, it was announced that Winx would be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, becoming only the third horse (after Sunline and Black Caviar) to be so honoured while still in training.

She will now be attempting to join the like of South Africa’s Pocket Power in the history books as the winner of the same major race four times in succession. Pocket Power won four Grade 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plates in succession from 2007 to 2010 and Legal Eagle will attempt to emulate him next year. The only horse in history to have won the same major race five times in succession is the 1957 born USA horse Kelso. He won the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which today carries Grade 1 status, every year from 1960-1964.

The Cox Plate run over 2040m at Moonee Valley in late October is Australia’s most important middle-distance, weight for age race and carries huge prestige as well as an $Aus 5 million stake, which is the equivalent of close to R50 million.

Winx has earned $Aus18,998,420 in stakes to date.

By David Thiselton

A stellar day on Saturday for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore yielded major Group 1 victories on either side of the Channel as they bagged the July Cup with U S Navy Flag and the Grand Prix de Paris with Kew Gardens. The Ballydoyle trainer also saddled the third and the fifth in the English race, a stylish and dramatic improvement from what had been a fruitless week for him at the July meeting.

Kew Gardens has also turned things around, his prospects in the sport having looked modest after last month’s Derby, when he was tailed off after helping set the pace for more fancied stablemates. He impressed in landing the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot but Saturday night’s success, at the expense of the French-trained Neufbosc, was a bigger step forward and puts him in contention for Ascot’s King George in a fortnight.

Aidan O’Brien (racingpost.com)

“You couldn’t be happier with him,” O’Brien said. “Ryan took his time on him and rode him for pace. He quickened up well and was brave at the end.” Kew Gardens’ odds for the King George have tumbled from 25-1 to 10-1, making him O’Brien’s strongest contender for the midsummer prize.

Five hours before raiding Longchamp, O’Brien had been accepting the trophy at Newmarket. His fourth July Cup success was achieved by the gritty U S Navy Flag, who turns out to be a speedball despite having been campaigned as a miler so far this year.

“Probably what threw us was that he was able to win a Dewhurst,” the trainer conceded. “He shouldn’t have been able to do that.”

The Dewhurst is supposed to be the key race for flagging up the next year’s Guineas prospects and so, having won it by daylight in the autumn, U S Navy Flag was stepped up to a mile in the spring and tried his luck in the French Guineas, the Irish Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes. Excuses could be made but the bottom line was, he came up short in three countries.

A loser five times in a row, the colt came here with a diminishing reputation under suspicion of having failed to train on. But all he wanted was a 25% cut in the distance of his races and, faced with six furlongs to cover for the first time since he won the Middle Park in September, he made every yard of the running and won tidily.

U S Navy Flag is best understood as a kind of boxer, if you accept the rhetoric from O’Brien and Moore; in a short fight, he has too much power for his opponents, but a longer one lets him punch himself out. “He is aggressive,” the trainer mused. “He can go forward and he’s very happy to lead.

“If anyone wants to lead him, that’s fine, but you have to go very hard because if you don’t, he’ll go hard himself. He’s so genuine, his head goes to the floor.” Moore said: “U S Navy Flag loves a fight. The second came to him and he found plenty.”

The horse will be given a break before being aimed at Australia’s fantastically valuable Everest Stakes in October. The richest turf race in the world, it will be worth A$13m (£7.3m) this year and is a natural target for a firm as ambitious as Coolmore, the power behind O’Brien, which has significant bloodstock interests in the country.

By The Guardian

The third Vaughan Marshall Cape Guineas winner in three years?

In his previous two starts the unbeaten One World looked talented but temperamental. However his awesome performance in the Langerman at Saturday’s Highlands Stud Kenilworth meeting was completely devoid of any sign of attitude. Seemingly he now knows what is required and, even more importantly, that he has the ability to deliver it.

MJ Byleveld

MJ Byleveld sent  the Captain Al colt into an immediate lead and once into the straight the 21-10 favourite strode further and further away to win by more than five lengths with his jockey looking back into the distance wishing he had brought his binoculars.

“The way he quickened at the top of the straight I didn’t think anything was going to get to him but there had been a lot of talk about Charles and I was waiting for him to come at me,” related Byleveld who is also now dreaming of a third straight Guineas.

“Last time One World tried to duck in at the junction but this time he raced like a professional. He is a good horse.”

Marshall, asked if he was surprised by how well the colt pulled away in the straight, replied: “Not at all. This is a very special horse and he will now be put away for the Guineas.”

The Klawervlei-bred was a welcome 54^th birthday present and tonic for Etienne Braun who had been in bed with ‘flu and owns him in partnership with Braam van Huyssteen and the Truters (Ken: “Vaughan was very bullish but I didn’t think the horse would win like that”).

The well-backed Charles was beaten six and a half lengths into third but Corne Orffer reckons his day will come, explaining: “It was a very good run – he is still inexperienced and it was his first time round a bend. He will come on a lot.”

Second, receiving 4kg from the winner, was the smart maiden Frank Lloyd Wright and Justin Snaith said: “He will be better on better ground and over further but this was a good effort.”

Doublemint’s decisive win under top weight in the Winter Derby, coming only seven days after Do It Again in the July, provided further testimony to the class of Twice Over’s first crop and surely – in terms of racecourse performance – the dual Champion Stakes winner is the best horse to come to South Africa straight off the racecourse for a very long time.

It was also the third consecutive Winter Derby for Snaith Racing and, typically, the new champion trainer is already mapping out big race targets. No, not the Met. “That is going to be a very tough race,” said the man who holds most of the aces. “This one is a July horse!”

The Winter Derby was the last big race win, and indeed the last South African meeting, for Grant van Niekerk who has two ten-day interference suspensions to sit out before he leaves to seek international  fame and fortune in Hong Kong.

Ancestry and Rock My Soul faded in the closing stages and Joey Ramsden found out why in the racecourse stables afterwards. Both horses were full of mucus.

Ramsden, now operating from a smaller 70-box yard between Eric Sands and Piet Steyn, had first and second in the Winter Oaks and he will talk to Drakenstein manager Kevin Sommerville about whether the Bernard Fayd’Herbe-ridden Fresnaye should attempt to follow up in Saturday week’s Final Fling. Second-placed Dynasty’s Blossom in Grant Knowles’ sale on Thursday week.

Adam Marcus is eyeing the Final Fling (and no doubt much bigger things too) for Brave Move who had no difficulty in making it five in a row in the Ladies Mile. Dan Katz is targeting the Algoa Cup after 2016 Durban July third Mac De Lago returned to winning form in the Silver Mountain Handicap and Glen Kotzen has the Cape Fillies Guineas as an obvious target for Coral Bay.

The Ideal World filly gave weight all round in the Irridescence and Richard Fourie reported: “She had the race won from the 900m point. She could be anything.”

By Michael Clower

Tomorrow’s Durbanville meeting will go ahead as planned despite all last week’s rain and the loss of its two most recent fixtures to waterlogging. The first was abandoned and the second switched to Kenilworth.

Racing manager Dean Diedericks said: “When we did all the work on the track we weren’t sure how it would drain and we have had some trouble at the 600m mark. We are going to put in more drainage there but obviously we can’t do that at the moment. However we won’t have a problem on Tuesday if the weather stays fine.”

Grant Knowles has switched his Central Route Trading Sale on Thursday week (July 26) from Kenilworth to Durbanville for AHS quarantine reasons.

He said: “Durbanville is outside the free zone whereas Kenilworth is the free zone. There are some well bred weanlings – by Captain Al, Twice Over and others – in the catalogue and I want them in the sale so I changed the venue.”

Sixteen of the 69 lots are submitted by Mayfair Speculators including the expected star of the show Lady Of The House. The Woolavington winner finished strongly to take third in last Saturday’s Ladies Mile, her first run for seven months.

By Michael Clower

Turffontein Standside stages a ten race card tomorrow and the exotics could yield good dividends for those who do their homework.

The Graduation Plate in the ninth is the highest class event of the day and could be fought out by Punta Cana and Full Mast, although Tammany Hall also has to be respected. Punta Cana has always had a touch of class and in his third run after a layoff and gelding is tried with blinkers again. Last time he moved up well from the back over 1600m but couldn’t find any extra so will likely appreciate the step down in trip and is well drawn. Full Mast was handy in the latter race and stayed on well to only just be cut down by the classy Royal Crusade.

Punta Cana (JC Photographics)

He is effective over this trip too and Lyle Hewitson aboard is a bonus. However, there is a reversal in draw fortunes and Punta Cana should be cherry ripe so he is taken to make up the 1,5 lengths despite being half-a-kilogram worse off. Tammany Hall has shown glimpses of class and looks distance suited. The blinkers are off after she disappointed last time over 1200m. Aurelia Cotta has been disappointing since a good start to her career so after a decent effort last time could be coming back into her own and can’t be ignored.

The two-year-old Louis The Seventh was staying on well last Saturday over 1400m to be second in a classy Juvenile Plate event, so has to be considered with 4kg claimer Luke Ferraris up, despite a wide draw. Winter Forge is interesting stepped up in trip as she has finished strongly in sprints before. Mutrib returns from a layoff since January. He made a good debut over this trip but disappointed second time out when producing a somewhat laboured finished over 1600m. The rest could have done him good and he can’t be ignored.

The exotics look the best way to play this tricky card. The PA Banker is chosen to be Smart Deal in the second leg over 2400m as he is an improving son of Ideal World and has finished second in his two staying race starts, both times to promising sorts. However, Imoto should also be included in the Pick 6 as a son of Traffic Guard who will enjoy the step down in trip from 2600m to 2400m.

The rest of the Pick 6 legs are all competitive, although Rebel Renegade, Singaswewin and Tripod could get punters through the fifth leg and Punta Cana, Full Mast and Tammany Hall could get them through the last leg.

The best bet on the card is taken to be Arctica in the second race over 2000m. He was produced too late last time when failing to reach Divine Oddyssey over 1600m. Before that he was staying on well over 1800m in the Jubilee Handicap, so he should enjoy this trip and Hewitson can get him home. Top Shot is proven over the trip and is knocking hard so is the main danger. Heavenly Blue is the class of the race but returns from a second successive layoff of greater than six months so has problems.

The value bet is chosen to be Time To Be Great who is an effective front runner and should relish the fast conditions over his ideal 1400m trip. He has a good draw which will help him get to the front and also has a 1,5kg claimer up.

By David Thiselton