Watching in the Randwick grandstand with equal amounts of admiration and disappointment was Red Excitement's trainer Gerald Ryan. The cagey Ryan was not like most in the race in being prepared to run for A$47,000 second place to Winx, he sent rider Josh Par out with instructions to establish a break on the field and attempt to alienate Winx. It nearly worked.
"I see this mare every morning [at Rosehill] and like all racing fans I love her," said Ryan. "I would hate to be the one to beat Winx, but as a trainer you have an obligation to your horse and your owners.
"I told Josh to lead because none of the others were quick enough. I told him to be aggressive, let him get into a rhythm in front and he'll tow you around."
Tow Par around Red Excitement did and if Bowman was concerned on the home bend when Red Excitement was 10 lengths away, so was everyone watching the race. Ryan described what he was feeling. "At the 300m I felt she would pick him up, but from the 200m to the 100m I dared to dream. Then I looked at his legs and knew he was running on empty and that she would win."
You would never guess from his remarkably measured demeanour, but Winx's trainer Chris Waller is under crushing pressure, pressure only a champion as great as Winx can keeping getting the former New Zealander out from under.
It must be remembered Waller's sole Winx ambition this preparation is to equal the record of another great in Kingston Town by winning a third straight Cox Plate. Waller has to walk a knife edge as sharp as anything you've seen to win these difficult lead-up races under these circumstance and still leave enough in the mare to be at her top on Cox Plate day. Even champions can go over the top under duress.
The owners' names are in the racebook, but Winx is public property. If she is beaten, the court of public opinion will not blame the magnificent mare. Waller will be in the frame. And he knows it.
It will be impossible to overstate the credit due to Waller if he can achieve his goal. In deference to what he and Winx face, Waller declared after Saturday's win he will look to drop one of the planned lead-up races between now and the Cox Plate.
"But it almost certainly won't be the next start, the George Main Stakes, I'd like to put a Group 1 win into her record this preparation. We'll see."
Waller fully accepts Winx as being a barn door target.
"They turned the race on, they tried to break us up. It's never what you like to see when you've got a horse chasing like that, but fair play to them, it [Red Excitement] did run second and didn't drop out and run last."
With three and a quarter lengths back to third that effort was almost forgotten in the heat of excitement, but not by trainer Stephen Marsh.
Stunningly exciting is not unfair to describe the performance of Cambridge's Chocante at weight-for-age. He is heading to the 3200m of the Melbourne Cup and this performance was beyond even the greatest optimist.
Marsh said on Friday Chocante was not going to Melbourne just to make up the Cup numbers and that the horse's form would tell him. The story has been told.
