Matt Chapman has challenged Winx to show her greatness on her date with history with the English racing commentator telling Racing.com’s After The Last program on Tuesday night that she should, as the world’s highest-rated horse, win the race easily.
Chapman told host Shane Anderson that he expected Winx would win her fourth Cox Plate but felt as though it was a race she should win as he did not rate her main danger – the Godolphin horse Benbatl - as being among Europe’s best weight-for-age middle-distance gallopers.
‘’He (Benbatl) is between five and eight lengths off an Enable or Cracksman, so if Winx is this wonder mare at the age of seven remember, which again is highly unlikely. There aren’t many wonder mares at the age of seven.
‘’But if she is this freak wonder mare....if Benbatl gives her a race then all the Australians saying she is invincible should be worried because he shouldn’t be able to give her a race.’’
Chapman prompted some jeers from the crowd at the official Cox Plate breakfast earlier in the morning when he suggested during a live interview that he and others back in England believed Winx was ‘’beating fairy moderate horses’’ and that Champion Stakes winner Cracksman deserved to be rated the best horse in the world in her place.