Racing: Whanganui jockey has seen greatness in Winx

Hugh Bowman saddles Winx to victory in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April.

Australian race mare, Winx, is the undisputed world champion of horse racing, having just been ranked Longines World's Best Racehorse.

She is the pride and joy of Coolmore Stud in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, and has a strong New Zealand connection given she is trained by former Foxton man, Chris Waller, at Rosehill, Sydney.

Her official weight is a massive 530kg and she stands a commanding 16.1 hands high, with the impeccable record of 28 victories, including 18 at the highest level.

Winx is undefeated in her last 25 appearances and is seeking a 26th straight win on Saturday. Outstanding credentials.

In a record-breaking win of just a fraction of a second over 2 minutes at the $4 million Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick in April, the Australian mare landed yet another knockout blow to end the chances of French horse Gailo Chop.

The race was over a grueling 2000m and Winx was initially slow and trailing the field.

Then, as the field entered the home straight, in the twinkle of an eye, she strode down the outside of the track to annihilate her opposition, bringing her career earnings to a massive A$19 million, eclipsing the mighty mare Makybe Diva – winner of three consecutive Melbourne Cups.

Not a bad return for her owners who forked out a miserable $230,000 at the Magic Millions Yearling Sales on Australia's Gold Coast in 2013.

Even though I have ridden, owned and trained a few winners back in the good old days, I would still struggle to comprehend the euphoric feeling the connections of this astonishing mare must feel every time she steps out onto the racetrack.

Winning a simple maiden race at a midweek Whanganui meeting makes an owner feel like king or queen for a day.

To win three prestigious Cox Plates, to win 25 in a row and smash the world record, this just blows the mind of anyone involved with horse racing.

Winx's name will stand next to racing legends like Phar Lap, Black Caviar, Man O' War and Secretariat.

If you were a devoted punter and had invested $100 to win on Winx back in September 2015, when her winning streak of 25 began, then kept reinvesting it each time she won, you would have won yourself almost $1 million.

Now that's a tidy little return on investment.

There has been some talk around the tracks that Winx needs to travel to England and race at Ascot to prove herself to the world, but comments like that are disingenuous, given other horses have been proclaimed world champions and have never raced outside their own country.

With such huge stake money on offer in Australia in races like the Cox Plate, overseas competitors have every opportunity and incentive to front up and challenge Winx for her crown.

In 2017, Winx was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.

Only two other horses have ever achieved this distinction while still in racing.

She kicks off her new season on Saturday in the Group 1 Winx Stakes over 1400m at Sydney's Randwick track, but Chris Waller's long-term plans are to win the prestigious $3m Cox Plate for the fourth consecutive time.

Steve Baron is a former Whanganui apprentice jockey