Lillian and I, had the opportunity to witness Australian racing history today along with 43, 831 other people in attendance at Randwick Racecourse.
Many in the crowd wore hues of blue – some of the ladies were in blue dresses or blue hats , and some of the men wore blue ties or blue shirts to capture the mood of the day. Lillian and I decided to wear blue in our outfits. Many in the crowd waved Winx flags, and some men wore Winx hats.
The mighty mare, Winx rose to the occasion and won race no 33 , Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000 metres) much to the delight of the crowd present. Her Australia -wide and overseas fans, who would have watched on TV , would have no doubt cheered her on. Winx gained the attention of the nation and in recent years, international recognition.
Some jockeys came out of the jockeys room to watch the race. Ken Callender, retired racing journalist, when interviewed for Chanel 9 News on Saturday night, said that “people were watching from the racecourse fence-the last time this happened was when Tulloch raced.”
My late father followed Phar Lap during the Depression, and he would talk about Phar Lap with great respect for the horse . Australians will long remember Winx for so many reasons.
Winxs’ achievements have come from her natural ability, along with the combined efforts of her jockey, Hugh Bowman , her trainer Chris Waller, and his staff .
Statistics: (Courtesy of Sunday Telegraph April 14,2019)
43 starts 37 wins 33 consecutive wins 25 group 1 wins $26,336,675 in prize money
No 1 world ranking
Happy retirement Winx!
