The highly anticipated first meeting of racing’s elite mares proved to be a one-sided affair, with Autumn Glow stamping her authority to claim her fourth Group 1 title in the $1 million Winx Stakes (1400m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Despite the margin, Sheza Alibi’s valiant effort to finish within one-and-a-half lengths after a tardy start was noteworthy.
Future clashes between the two mares this spring remain undecided, pending the Group 1 race selected by Autumn Glow’s connections, with options including the $20 million The TAB Everest (1200m) or the $5 million King Charles III Stakes (1600m) at Royal Randwick on October 17.
Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller and owner John Messara indicated a measured approach to this decision.
“We won’t worry about that today,” Waller stated. “There are so many things to analyse – the horse’s health first of all, sectional times, the likely competition. We will have to sit down and talk it through in a few days.”
Messara anticipates that a decision regarding The Everest or King Charles for Autumn Glow will be made within a week or two.
“She will have a few days off and then we will see how she has pulled through this race,” Messara said. “I would say we will try to meet with Chris in about a week or so and then decide what we do – but we will enjoy today first.”
Autumn Glow’s superb comeback win offered plenty to savour. The $1.70 favourite, guided by jockey James McDonald, enjoyed an ideal run and was eased down 50 metres from the line to maintain a one-and-a-half length advantage over Sheza Alibi ($3.50), with Gringotts ($21) a further two lengths back. Those who consulted the Australian betting sites saw the odds-on favourite perform as expected.
Remarkably, Autumn Glow recorded a new race record time of 1 minute 21.03 seconds for the 1400m at Randwick, despite not being pushed to her limits. The race was highlighted by several significant achievements:
Autumn Glow secured her 12th win from 13 starts, her fourth at Group 1 level, and pushed her career earnings beyond $9 million.
She became the 12th favourite this century to win the race, and the seventh to start at odds-on.
Waller trained his 10th winner of the Winx Stakes, drawing level with the race training record of the legendary Tommy Smith.
McDonald rode his fifth Winx Stakes winner in six years, placing him just one behind the all-time race riding record held by “Demon” Darby Munro.
There were commendable runs from horses finishing behind the mares, including Gringotts (third), Lady Shenandoah (fourth), Ceolwulf (fifth), Idle Flyer (sixth), and Green Spaces (eighth). Even the early leader, Midnight Dynamite (seventh), showed good form.
However, Autumn Glow’s faultless, efficient racing style makes winning Group 1 races seem routine.
“She’s so special, just her gate speed and tractability,” McDonald stated. “She knows when she’s in a race because from the 500m to the 400m, it’s like she just powers into herself and just builds herself, she just knows. It’s an incredible feeling and even though she puts herself in good spots, for her to have that audacity to fill her lungs up and know it’s go time, just let rip, it’s just incredible.”
McDonald also acknowledged the strong performance of Sheza Alibi in closing for second.
“The second horse, take nothing away, she’s special as well. An incredible performance by her and I think we just embrace the two mares for how good they are,” McDonald said. “Even if they clash they’re two special, great horses that have come along at the same time. One’s a year older, but when they have their clashes it’s going to be some great rivalry. I wouldn’t swap Autumn Glow for any horse but I love the competitiveness.”
Waller welcomed Peter Moody’s decision to bring Sheza Alibi to Sydney to challenge Autumn Glow.
“It was great that Peter Moody and the owners brought the mare up to Sydney,” Waller said. “This was the first round of competition running these headline horses. As James just said, people come to the races because they want to see these great horses racing each other. We don’t always want these clashes but it is important for the sport. We have come out of round one pretty well but I’m pretty sure there will be round two or round three.”
Autumn Glow, a five-year-old mare, has delivered her most outstanding first-up performance in the Winx Stakes, setting her up for a significant spring campaign.
“We know how good she is, so nothing has changed,” Waller confirmed. “We just needed her to come back and show us where she is. She was ready to go because I didn’t want her to have a tough time first-up. If she had to reach beyond what she was fit enough to do, then that it would have been tough on her.”
Messara admitted the overwhelming emotion was one of relief.
“With these great horses, you just want them to come back at the start of a new season and perform at their best,” Messara said. “She was very impressive today, it was great to watch her. She’s a very special mare and I feel this could be her best season.”
Moody conceded that Sheza Alibi’s slow start “wasn’t ideal” but chose not to offer excuses.
“Sheza Alibi ran well, she found one better on the day,” Moody stated. “We’ve been competitive against the best so we’ll see if we can build on it.”
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