Winx recorded two wins from as many starts as a two-year-old, but trainer Chris Waller is not expecting the talented filly to win the 2014 Furious Stakes at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
Winx will defend her undefeated record against Earthquake and Peggy Jean in the 2014 Furious Stakes at Royal Randwick this weekend. Photo by: Steve Hart
Winx made her racing debut with a win in the Ibis Milano Restaurant Handicap (1100m) at Warwick Farm on June 4 before she was sent to the spelling paddock after recording a comfortable win in the Early Quaddie Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill Gardens on June 28.
Waller is hoping that Winx is capable of competing at the highest level of racing during the 2014 Spring Racing Carnival, with the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) on the agenda for the daughter of Street Cry, but he is just hoping that the filly is able to finish in the placings in the Furious Stakes this weekend.
“She is up against it here at set weights carrying the same weight as Earthquake and Peggy Jean, who are Group 1 winners,” Waller said.
“It is a starting point to say the least, but she did a great job in the winter.
“I don’t think that she will win, but if she ran third or fourth I would be over the moon and heading for a good prep.
“She is heading towards the Flight Stakes if she is up to this level.”
Winx is rated more than 20 rating points Earthquake and Peggy Jean, who have also been included in the Furious Stakes field, but she will carry the same weight as the Group 1 winners under the set weights conditions of the Group 2 event.
Waller admits that there is the possibility that Earthquake and Peggy Jean will be unable to replicate the form that they showed as juveniles, but believes that Winx will be no match for either filly if they are able to recapture their best form.
“It will be interesting,” Waller said.
“All of those horses will have to come back that were successful two-year-olds.
“They won’t all come back, it is as simple as that and that is the problem with running two-year-olds.
“If one of them comes back it will blow as a way it is as simple as away.”
Winx is currently available at 2014 Furious Stakes odds of $8 with Ladbrokes Australia, while Earthquake ($1.80) is a clear favourite from Peggy Jean ($4.80) and Memorial ($7).
