Few horses have left a mark on Australian racing quite like Winx.
The champion mare transformed race days into sporting events, drawing enormous crowds wherever she appeared and building a winning sequence that seemed almost impossible with every passing start.
Trained by Chris Waller and partnered throughout most of her career by Hugh Bowman, Winx retired in 2019 with 37 victories from 43 starts, more than $26 million in prize money and an extraordinary 33-race winning streak.
That sequence included a world-record 25 Group 1 victories and an unprecedented four consecutive Cox Plates. She was crowned Australian Horse of the Year four times and became one of the rare racehorses whose reputation stretched well beyond the boundaries of the sport.
Her dominance was not confined to one distance or one racecourse. Winx won from 1100m through to 2200m, capturing major races in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane while repeatedly producing the acceleration that became her trademark.
Her final appearance came before a packed Royal Randwick in the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Stakes, where she completed her career with yet another Group 1 victory.
The former Warwick Stakes was renamed in her honour in 2018, providing a fitting tribute to a mare who had won the race in each of the previous two seasons. Winx then returned to win the inaugural running under its new name, extending her sequence to 26 consecutive victories and completing a hat-trick in the race.
The Group 1 contest has since become the traditional opening highlight of the Australian racing season, but few editions have carried the anticipation surrounding Saturday’s $1 million feature at Royal Randwick.
Two of the country’s most exciting racehorses are set to meet for the first time as Autumn Glow and Sheza Alibi begin their spring campaigns over 1400m.
It is a showdown worthy of the champion whose name the race carries.
For much of her career, defeat appeared to be something that simply did not apply to Autumn Glow.
The Chris Waller-trained mare won her first 11 starts, progressing from restricted company into the elite level while maintaining the same effortless racing style.
Her unbeaten sequence finally came to an end when she stepped beyond 1600m for the first time in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2000m. Despite tasting defeat, her record remains an imposing 11 victories from 12 appearances.
Saturday brings her back to 1400m, a distance much closer to the conditions under which she established herself as one of Australia’s brightest stars.
She has drawn barrier three and will again be partnered by James McDonald, whose ability to settle her before producing her powerful acceleration has been a central part of their success.
There are some similarities between Autumn Glow and the mare after whom Saturday’s race is named. Both were prepared by Waller, both developed an aura through extended winning sequences and both possessed the ability to relax before unleashing a devastating turn of foot.
Comparisons with Winx remain an enormous burden for any horse, but Autumn Glow has done enough to create genuine excitement about what the next stage of her career could deliver.
The Winx Stakes represents the beginning of that next chapter.
If Autumn Glow arrives with the established reputation, Sheza Alibi brings a rise every bit as compelling.
Purchased for just $10,000 as a weanling, the daughter of Saxon Warrior began her career in regional Queensland before joining the powerful Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman stable.
Her progression since moving south has been remarkable.
Victories in The Vanity, Sandown Guineas and Angus Armanasco Stakes established her among the leading fillies of her generation, but it was in Sydney during the autumn that she elevated herself into the top echelon.
Sheza Alibi dominated the Randwick Guineas before producing an exceptional performance against older opposition in the Doncaster Mile.
After settling at the rear of the field, she swept around her rivals and powered clear to win the $4 million handicap by more than four lengths. The victory made her the first three-year-old filly since Sunline in 1999 to capture the Doncaster.
She enters the Winx Stakes with seven wins, two seconds and a third from 10 starts, having won her past six races.
However, Saturday presents a different examination.
The Doncaster allowed Sheza Alibi to take advantage of a light weight under handicap conditions. The Winx Stakes is run at weight-for-age, bringing her closer to the established stars and requiring her to prove that her autumn brilliance can translate into a genuine championship campaign.
Barrier one could also create a tactical challenge. With a large field surrounding her, jockey Jamie Melham may need to find clear running room at precisely the right moment.
Moody has been open about the size of the task, describing Autumn Glow as the deserved favourite and acknowledging that Sheza Alibi will need to improve again to defeat her.
Although the market has been dominated by the two headline mares, the Winx Stakes has assembled one of its strongest fields.
Ten Group 1 winners are among the 14 acceptors, with Waller responsible for eight runners.
Dual Group 1 winner Beiwacht could play an important tactical role at the front of the field. His ability to sustain a strong tempo over 1400m gives him the chance to turn the race into a serious weight-for-age examination from the outset.
Multiple Group 1 winners Ceolwulf and Lindermann add further depth, while Australian Derby winner Green Spaces begins a campaign likely to be built around longer spring assignments.
Aeliana returns after adding two Group 1 victories to her record, while Autumn Boy will attempt to reverse the form after finishing behind Sheza Alibi in both the Randwick Guineas and Doncaster Mile.
The presence of so many established performers means neither favourite will be afforded the luxury of a simple return to racing.
The opening Group 1 of the spring often provides clues about the months ahead. This year, it could immediately establish the horse around which the entire carnival revolves.
For Autumn Glow, the challenge is to rebound from the first defeat of her career and confirm that her brilliant record can develop into sustained weight-for-age dominance.
For Sheza Alibi, it is the opportunity to show that her Doncaster demolition was not merely the performance of a talented filly favourably placed in a handicap, but the emergence of a genuine star.
Two brilliant mares. Two contrasting journeys. One coveted Group 1 prize.
The race named in honour of one of the greatest mares Australia has ever seen may now provide the stage for the country’s next racing queen to emerge.
By Scott Bailey
