October
OctoberA dream come true
Well done to Chris Waller standing up for his champion racehorse Winx after the disrespectful comments made by the infamously irritating and forever controversial UK racing commentator Matt Chapman.
The easy path would have been to ignore Chapman’s comments. It is not the first time Matt Chapman has fallen foul of racing industry participants, particularly at home in the UK and Ireland.
Chapman was given the privileged opportunity to speak at Moonee Valley Racing Club’s pre-Cox Plate breakfast. As a guest speaker he proceeded to disparage Winx and her record by questioning the opposition she had beaten in Australia and arrogantly suggesting what type of Cox Plate win was required for her to be acclaimed the world’s best thoroughbred.
Watching his “performance” live on TV I considered it embarrassing and showed a distinct lack of class.
Proven facts don’t lie. Winx has won on all track conditions, under weight-for-age and handicap conditions, over distances from 1100m to 2200m, and raced for six seasons.
Even when running in middle-distance races she peels off sectionals that sprinting thoroughbreds would be proud of.
Her winning times set records and her margins often embarrass her competitors. The clock does not lie.
All she can do is continue to beat the horses that she is competing against and many of them are multiple Group 1 winners. Her racing legacy was already assured regardless of the 2018 Cox Plate result.
I also completely disagree with Chapman’s belief that one great performance can make a sporting great. A great comes back more than once to prove their worth. If you only do something amazing once, it can arguably be considered a fluke.
I am sure that Matt Chapman’s comments have galvanised the Australian racing public in their support for the horse.
For any person with an interest in horse racing, whether they be an owner, trainer or punter, Winx is a dream come true.
Ballan (Vic)