Hugh Bowman says riding Winx at Royal Ascot would "be an absolute dream"
By Harry Allwood
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
By Harry Allwood
Hugh Bowman told Racing UK viewers on Sunday that “it would be an absolute dream” to ride Australian wonder mare Winx at Royal Ascot next year.
Winx extended her winning sequence to 20 this month in the Group One Colgate Optic White Stakes at Randwick and Bowman has been on board for every success.
The Chris Waller-trained daughter of Street Cry will attempt to become only the second three-time winner of the Cox Plate at Moonee Valley next month but her connections are already peaking towards 2018.
Waller issued a press release this week which said a European campaign is being considered for Winx next year and Bowman supports the idea provided everything goes smoothly this campaign.
“I imagine nothing will be visitant until if/when she completes this preparation in the fashion that we expect her to,” he told Nick Luck on Racing Uk’s new weekly breakfast show Luck On Sunday.
“I would love to see her compete on the world stage, internationally. She’s competed on the world stage here in Australia and I think it is fair to say that everyone’s aware of her ability.
“If she is happy and healthy and it does not disrupt her pattern then I would run her. It would be an absolute dream to come to Royal Ascot.
“The Queen Anne over a straight mile at Royal Ascot would be an obvious target. The Prince Of Wales’s Stakes over ten furlongs is also an option.”
Australia have tasted success over sprinting distances at Royal Ascot multiple times in the past with the likes of Choisir, Takeover Target and Black Caviar who won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in 2012.
However, 37-year-old Bowman believes it would be massively beneficial should Winx defeat milers and middle-distance rivals in Europe.
Bowman said: “To come over with a genuine middle-distance horse, and to win a race that is not over a sprinting distance, and prove that the stock in the southern hemisphere is up to standard would mean a great deal to me and everyone in Australia.
“It would be lovely for this mare to come over while she is at the top and show what she can do in Europe. She’s a once in a lifetime horse.”
The six-year-old has won 24 of her 30 starts, including 12 Group One races. She has won more than £7 million in prize money and has not suffered a defeat since April 2015.
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