Talented mare Winx overcame a very tough run in transit and survived a nasty check to record a most impressive victory in the 2015 Epsom Handicap at Royal Randwick this afternoon.

Hugh Bowman was delighted to record his first Epsom Handicap victory on Winx at Royal Randwick this afternoon. Photo by: Steve Hart

Winx was caught three wide in the second half of the field in the early stages of the Epsom Handicap and she tracked into the race nicely, but she nearly ran off the track coming into the straight and she almost fell over at the 400 metre.

Ecuador and Sons Of John both toughed it out on the speed, but Winx was able to drag herself off the deck and she finished over the top of her rivals to claim her second win at Group 1 level in the 2015 Epsom Handicap.

Jockey Hugh Bowman admitted that everything did not go to plan in the Epsom Handicap, but he was delighted to finally win his first win in the Epsom Handicap and he believes that the daughter of Street Cry is a genuine star in the making.

“I don’t like to get carried away, but she got stood on her head at the 450 and she got herself regathered, composed and won with authority,” Bowman said.

“I would just like to congratulate Chris Waller on his management of the horse.

“As an autumn three-year-old filly she didn’t show what we expected of her and he put her away and looked after her and now he is reaping the rewards.

“I am so thankful to ride an animal of this calibre and it is a privilege.

“I was nineteen-year-olds when I rode to the gates in a Doncaster for the first time and it is just privilege to be riding here on the big stage.

“To ride a horse of this calibre and win my first major Randwick mile means a great deal.”

Trainer Chris Waller has always had a big opinion of Winx and he said after the race that her thrilling performance spoke for itself in the Epsom Handicap.

Waller admitted that he was simply hopeful that Winx would finish the race in one piece after she found trouble at the top of the straight, but he was simply thrilled that the four-year-old had been able to get the job done once again.

“People at home get to see her win these races from impossible positions and whether it be 2200 of the Oaks, first-up 1300 metres or today a classic Randwick mile,” Waller said.

“Not only that, she overcomes barrier draws, track conditions and scrimmages on the turn.

“I deadset closed my eyes hoping for the best and she did pretty well.

“As a three-year-old she was in there in the winter before the better horses came back and she won her races earnt her stripes and she was running against First Seal in the autumn.

“She has been everywhere and she is still flying.”

Winx has been included in the 2015 Cox Plate nominations, but Waller refused to confirm whether the four-year-old would press on to the Australasian Weight-For-Age Championship and he said that he would let the dust settle before he decide on the exact path that the mare would follow for the rest of the 2015 Spring Racing Carnival.

“She will be off to Melbourne,” Waller said.

“There will be a nice race for her down there.

“It is easy to talk Cox Plate’s, but we will get today out of the way and be realistic at some time.”

Gai Waterhouse-trained Ecuador toughed it out on the speed to finish second in the best performance of his career to date, while Sons Of John continued his impressive form with a third place finish.