Champion mare Winx has been installed a very short priced favourite again to score her twenty-first straight win in the Group 1 $500,000 Seppelt Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Winx, above, is the short priced favourite for the 2017 Turnbull Stakes at Flemington. Photo by Steve Hart.
Ladbrokes.com.au has installed Winx as the $1.16 favourite in the betting following the release of the final field and the barrier draw for the Turnbull Stakes on Wednesday morning.
The only other runner under the $10 mark in the seven horse field is the Darren Weir trained Humidor at $4.60 with the next in the betting being the Lindsay Park trained Ventura Storm at $31.
The Chris Waller trained Winx has drawn barrier two in the Turnbull Stakes with regular rider Hugh Bowman in the saddle again.
Both Waller and Bowman are very pleased with the way that Winx has settled into her new surrounding and also the way she galloped on the Flemington course proper on Monday morning.
Flemington trackmen clocked Winx running an astonishing 21 seconds for her final 400m of her 1000m gallop and Bowman had no reason to say that the supersonic time was off the mark.
“That’d be right,” Bowman told the Herald Sun.
“Yeah, she felt pretty good. Actually, I would say it was probably her best gallop this preparation, to be honest with you.”
“She felt amazing.”
“She had the ear muffs off and she was feeling really good in her action.
“And when she changed legs, I let her really run into the bridle and I don’t do that a lot at track work but it was her main piece and she had the opportunity to use the course proper.
“I just go by feel and what I felt this morning was pretty much what I hoped to feel.
“The best thing about it was she was very relaxed. That gives me great comfort.”
“Obviously having her first run at the track this Saturday, very excited about that and very pleased how she’s settled in.”
Winx has kept her winning momentum going with three wins at Randwick during the 2017 Spring Carnival in the Group 2 $250,000 Warwick Stakes (1400m), in the Group 2 $250,000 Tattersalls Club Chelmsford Stakes (1600m) and in the Group 1 $500,000 Colgate Optic White Stakes (George Main Stakes) (1600m).
Humidor has shown his liking for the huge Flemington course with two Group 1 wins at his last two appearances there.
The five year old claimed his first Group 1 trophy in the $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington and was back in the Group 1 winner’s stall last start with an emphatic victory in the Group 1 $750,000 Makybe Diva Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on September 16.
Makybe Diva Stakes winning jockey Damian Lane has the reins again on Humidor who has drawn barrier nicely at barrier four.
