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All eyes were on the return of Winx at Randwick on Saturday in the Group 2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) and the 2015 Cox Plate winner did not disappoint.
Sent out the $1.60 favourtie by punters, Hugh Bowman settled Winx fifth on the rail from the inside draw and making steady ground in the straight took the lead inside the 100m to run out a one length winner over Solicit in second with Hauraki well back in third.
The Chris Waller-trained runner returned a Timeform figure of 116+, ten pounds below her Cox Plate demolition (126p) and has now claimed victory in her last six outings.
Highlighted more by the opposition she was taking on, Winx returned a figure five pounds below last years winner Contributer (121p) who beat a fairly strong field.
Winx who completed the 1400m trip in 1.22.03 (inside standard) also looked to have plenty up her sleeve and appeared to do what was only required to win the race and not a great deal more.
The Racing and Sports field strength value (RSFS) was slightly above that of a Group 2 race and the four-year-old mare certainly looks on target for a big autumn campaign.
Winx will more than likely head to the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) next which was the same progression Contributer made last year before taking out the Ranvet (200m) which is the natural weight-for-age progression.
Contributer ran to 121 when winning last years Chipping Norton Stakes and 124p in the Ranvet which puts Winx right in the frame to complete the same treble.
Earlier in the program Perignon returned in good order with a win in the Group 2 Light Fingers Stakes (1200m).
The Gerald Ryan-trained runner came from off the pace to claim a narrow victory over Kangarilla Joy with Tempt Me Not third.
The RSFS indicates it was below par for a three-year-old Group 2 race with Perignon returning a Timeform figure of 107, two pounds below her third in the Flight Stakes.
The stable is likely to push on through the fillies’ series during the autumn although may bypass the Coolmore with the mile posing a few question marks.
Second placegetter Kangarilla Joy ran to a new peak of 106, nine pounds above her win at Randwick two back.
The Team Snowden-trained runner is building up an impressive record and with potentially more improvement to come is worth following throughout the autumn.
Sultry Feeling ran to a new peak Timeform rating of 104 when claiming victory in the Group 3 Triscay Stakes (1200m).
Setting up on the speed with Kerrin McEvoy on board, the four-year-old mare was able to hold off Peeping over the concluding stages with Savoureux well back in third.
The RSFS value was below standard for a Group 3 race with the time 1.09.64 outside race par.
Arguably the run of the race came from second placegetter Peeping who carried 59kg, 5kg more than the winner Sultry Feeling.
The Ron Quinton-trained mare ran to her career peak of 112, also achieved when winning the Group 2 Golden Pendant in the spring.
The Coolmore Classic looms as the main target for Peeping taken out by Plucky Belle last year who ran to 110 when getting the better of First Seal.
Big Money rounded out the Group winners of the day with a very narrow victory over Decision Time with Rich Enuff not far away in third in the G3 Southern Cross Stakes (1200m).
The Rodney Northam-trained runner ran to his peak of 116, 11 pounds higher than his third in the Expressway Stakes last start.
The RSFS Value indicates it was above par for a Group 3 race with only 1.9L separating the top five runners.
Setting towards the rear, Big money took advantage of the fast tempo to run on strongly and grab the narrow win over the concluding stages.