Winx Breaks New Record With 23rd Group 1 Win

Super mare Winx broke another record over the weekend winning the Grade 1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick racecourse to land her 23rd Grade 1 of her career.

This number of black type victories has now surpassed Hurricane Fly's record of 22 top flight wins over fences with the Australian seven year old now taking her overall success to 31 in a row.

Winx was sent off at 1/12 to land the odds and as she has done throughout what has been a career that looks like it will never be beaten, went on to take the contest with ease breezing down the outside of the field to land the spoils.

Hurricane Fly was a valiant holder of this record with his display of pure talent over hurdles from 2008-2015 winning 22 Grade 1 races all over hurdles and the pinnacle winning the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham twice between 2011-2013.

The Willie Mullins trained hurdler will never be forgotten in racing history but will have to step a side from this record with the Aussie wonder mare doing what everyone thought she would and land the Grade 1 at Randwick under yet another savvy ride by Hugh Bowman.

(Credit Sky Racing)

Winx's victory in the Chipping Norton Stakes was her fourth consecutively in the race, equalling Tie The Knot, who won four straight between 1999 and 2002.

The second placed Happy Clapper went straight to the front for the first time in his career and tried to make all but could just not hold on for long enough and in the end she went on to score eased down.

(Credit Racing Post) "She is amazing, Blake really made it a test today, like Josh Parr did on Red Excitement once before, but she can just cover all bases this mare, she is just an amazing athlete, there is no more words to describe her," jockey Hugh Bowman said

"I think today when you watch the replay, at the 700-metre mark you would have thought she was out of business.

"Another jockey may have thought that, but I knew when I balanced up she was going to rally, there was no way Happy Clapper could sustain that speed and I knew that when she balanced up, she would have the energy required to reel him in.

"And I'll be honest, although I was pushing her, she was doing it with relative ease, and I think had I struck her she would have found another couple of lengths for me.

"Blake is one of the few jockeys who will go out there and try and do something different. I actually anticipated he would try and go really slow and he probably realised he couldn't win if he did that, he has done the opposite.

"With a small field, the opposition she is taking on, they are not all the best horses but the reality is the best horses won't take her on."

She is rated the the joint best flat horse in the world alongside the now retired four year old Cracksman trained by John Gosden.

This is set to be Winx's last season with the races she has won in her career being nothing short of astonishing but there is the argument that if she came over to England would she have still been this long going unbeaten?

That debate is for another day with admiring what she has accomplished being more important, with now a total of £12.89 million won in prize money, 31 wins in a row including 23 Grade 1 wins, she is one of the greatest horses to grace the sport.