Winx beats Humidor in a thrilling 2017 Ladbrokes Cox Plate
She is the greatest W.S. Cox Plate champion the Moonee Valley Racing Club has ever seen, and it can be argued that she is the greatest horse in Australian racing history, full stop.
Three-and-a-half years on from her retirement, the equine highlight reel that is Winx continues to evoke great memories whenever carnival time nears closer, where the race replays are shown once more, and the great mare is exhibited in all her glory.
But while there have been countless articles, feature stories and even a biography written on Winx; there was still yet to be a cinematic piece made – until now.
Award winning film maker Janine Hosking and producer Carolyn Kung are part of the iKandy Films team, who are currently in production of the Winx Documentary that is predicted to hit our airways leading up to the 2023 Ladbrokes Cox Plate.
The iKandy Films team were at The Valley during the week, and we were able to get a sneak peek behind the scenes where well renowned journalist Andrew Rule, author of “WINX the Authorised Biography”, and superstar rival jockey to Winx, Blake Shinn feature prominently.
“We’re here to film and try and recreate the energy of those incredible Cox Plate wins”, director Janine Hosking said.
“We’ve already done interviews with Chris Waller and Hugh Bowman, and we were really keen to get here, have a look at the course with Andrew Rule, and also to talk to people that had to try and do the impossible and beat Winx.”
One of those who regularly strode to do ‘the impossible’ was rider Blake Shinn, who did slay the giant multiple times when Winx was still early in her career. He rode First Seal and Fenway who claimed the scalp of the great mare in 2014 and 2015, before a rivalry sparked with Pat Webster’s warhorse Happy Clapper, and of course the famous day in 2017 where she and Humidor fought out a memorable Cox Plate.
Riding the crest of a wave, Shinn reflects fondly on that great day in October of 2017. From just seven rides, he rode four winners and nearly upset the applecart in the feature where Winx was unbackable odds to emulate the feats of the great Kingston Town and win her third consecutive Cox Plate.
“My memories of the 2017 Cox Plate Day were incredible really. Nothing seemed to go wrong, it was one of those rare days on a racetrack”, Shinn told us.
“When you’re going up against champions like Winx, you’re going in as an underdog so the pressure is not as big as it would be if you’re riding the $1.50 favourite – so you can do things a little outside the box and take some chances…”
“For a fleeting moment around the 200 (metre mark) I thought I was going to pick the great mare up, but like champions do they just find another gear and Winx did that and just held me at bay.”
Shinn reflected on the 2017 Cox Plate in depth with Andrew Rule, walking down the Valley straight and narrating the final 300 metres while describing one of the greatest losing Cox Plate rides of all time.
The track a firm and fast Good 3, Winx broke her own track record running a scintillating 2:02.94 seconds, while Humidor to his credit also broke Winx’s previous best, only 0.4 of a length behind her.
What is often forgotten however, is that Winx faced the breeze from the halfway mark and made a long sustained effort, while Humidor was curdled up between runners and saved all the ground under an airborne Blake Shinn. The fact she was still able to break the 2040 metre track record under such circumstances is nothing short of remarkable.
“Winx – freak athelete”, Rule described her as, a man who knows her story all too well.
An accurate description of one of the greatest Australia has ever seen, we now look forward to hearing the full tale when Winx the movie hits our cinemas early next Spring.