Trainer Chris Waller with Winx, strapper Umut Odem and jockey Hugh Bowman admiring her after an effortless lead up gallop at Flemington in preparation for the 2017 Turnbull Stakes. (Alice Laidlaw/Racing Photos)
deeply as the years go on”.
“It was actually a huge relief when she retired, because it was a demanding period,” Waller says. “We knew it was a privilege when we were involved, but we never really got to enjoy her wins like the public. It was just constant pressure – training, riding, being associated with such a good horse. “The different perspective now is it’s helped me cope with pressure a lot better. She’s changed us as people, and it’s been an amazing experience.” Like Bowman, who “still can’t get my head around the numbers”, like the 25 Group 1s and the 33 straight wins, Waller understands his good fortune. “I’ve only been through all her replays a couple of times,” he says, “simply because it was so very deep and involved when she was racing. We’d relive every second of the race as it happened, let alone watching and reviewing later. “I can certainly appreciate it now. You’ll see good horses, winning four or five in a row, winning a couple of Group 1s, but then see them get beaten. It’s not that they’re not good horses, it’s simply how hard it is to continue to achieve that level. “Whether she was 100 per cent right on the day, or 90 per cent, regardless of track conditions, the opposition, or if it was early in the prep – she was simply invincible.”
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