It's over. The last winner's circle shots have been taken; the roar from the grandstands at Royal Randwick has died away into memory. Whether Winx will miss the excitement of the racecourse and the adulation of the crowds is anyone's guess---most likely not, as biology takes over and she becomes absorbed in the business of reproducing her kind. It is left for her fans to feel the hollow place where she once was. For four seasons, she was the uncontested queen of Australian racing. Now she is gone, leaving an empty throne.
Numbers tell the bare bones of her story. 43 starts, 37 wins, the last 33 of them in succession. A record 25 Group I wins, more than any Thoroughbred in history. Group victories from 1200 meters (about 6 furlongs) to 2200 meters (about 11 furlongs). Four consecutive wins in three different Group I races, including the historic Cox Plate. A three-time Australian Horse of the Year, and virtually guaranteed a fourth such title when the votes are officially tallied. The world's top-rated mare on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for three consecutive years, and tied with Cracksman for delivering the world's top-rated performance in 2018. The highest-earning racehorse ever, anywhere.
But numbers cannot capture what she meant to fans around the world. As her triumphs mounted, webcasts of her races became must-sees. Europeans longed to see her in action on their turf, and the collective sighs of disappointment when her connections decided against an invasion of Royal Ascot in 2018 could surely be heard on the International Space Station. Americans followed her story with such enthusiasm that in that same year, Winx became the first horse based outside North America to be voted the Secretariat Vox Populi Award as the horse "whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing," as specified in the terms of the award---and this in a year featuring American Triple Crown winner Justify. And Australians knew her simply as "The Queen."
Comparisons between the greats of different eras and different continents are essentially pointless, given the differences in conditions and competition that racing's legends faced. What matters is the privilege of having seen, even in the tiny images of a computer screen, one of the rare Thoroughbreds whose feats transcend nationality, space and time.
Thanks for the memories, Winx.
Numbers tell the bare bones of her story. 43 starts, 37 wins, the last 33 of them in succession. A record 25 Group I wins, more than any Thoroughbred in history. Group victories from 1200 meters (about 6 furlongs) to 2200 meters (about 11 furlongs). Four consecutive wins in three different Group I races, including the historic Cox Plate. A three-time Australian Horse of the Year, and virtually guaranteed a fourth such title when the votes are officially tallied. The world's top-rated mare on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings for three consecutive years, and tied with Cracksman for delivering the world's top-rated performance in 2018. The highest-earning racehorse ever, anywhere.
But numbers cannot capture what she meant to fans around the world. As her triumphs mounted, webcasts of her races became must-sees. Europeans longed to see her in action on their turf, and the collective sighs of disappointment when her connections decided against an invasion of Royal Ascot in 2018 could surely be heard on the International Space Station. Americans followed her story with such enthusiasm that in that same year, Winx became the first horse based outside North America to be voted the Secretariat Vox Populi Award as the horse "whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public and gained recognition for Thoroughbred racing," as specified in the terms of the award---and this in a year featuring American Triple Crown winner Justify. And Australians knew her simply as "The Queen."
Comparisons between the greats of different eras and different continents are essentially pointless, given the differences in conditions and competition that racing's legends faced. What matters is the privilege of having seen, even in the tiny images of a computer screen, one of the rare Thoroughbreds whose feats transcend nationality, space and time.
Thanks for the memories, Winx.
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