Winx surpasses Black Caviar with 16th Group One Australian supermare Winx extended her winning streak to 23 with a stylish success in the Group One Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick. Having her first start since winning a third Cox Plate last October, Chris Waller's charge was settled towards the back of the field by Hugh Bowman through the early stages of the mile contest. Racing widest of all around the home turn, Winx breezed past her rivals before quickly asserting and pulling seven lengths clear of Victoria Derby winner Prized Icon, with Classic Uniform in third. Bowman told www.racing.com: "She has been filling me with confidence all preparation. "She is at her most vulnerable early in her preparation over the shorter distances, we've seen when she has run in her first-up races over 1400 metres (seven furlongs) it's the only time she's left flat-footed and left us scratching our heads wondering if she has still got it. "Today at the 1600m, a nice genuinely-run race, I had a lovely run close to the rear of the field but she just travelled so kindly. "I wouldn't say it was a vintage field that she has beaten here today, and that's fair to say, it's obvious, she's beaten much better horses." The victory also represented the 16th top level success of Winx's career, surpassing Black Caviar's record of 15 Australian Group One wins. Waller nominated another crack at the George Ryder Stakes over seven and a half furlongs at Rosehill on March 17 as her next port of call, but would not be drawn on the subject of a possible trip to Royal Ascot in the summer. He said: "To see her come back like this is pretty special. "Her attitude is fantastic, she is better now than when she was a four-year-old, but not much has changed in the last 12 months. "She knows it's her job, she enjoys her job."
