Australian champion thoroughbred Winx claimed a Group 1 race named in her honour at Royal Randwick on Saturday to notch a national record 26th successive win and overhaul the great Black Caviar.
The seven-year-old mare trained by Chris Waller eased into her work in the A$500,000 (over Dh1.2 million) Winx Stakes before thundering down the straight to win the 1,400m weight-for-age race by a length over Invictus Prince.
Hailed as the world's top sprinter, Winx moved past Black Caviar's record streak of 25 wins while extending her national record to 19 Group 1 victories.
Four months after winning the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at the same racecourse, the bay mare's triumphant return to the track left Waller choking back tears.
"[I'm] just looking for signs of her losing her dominance," Waller said on Saturday, the same day Black Caviar turned 12.
"I haven't seen one, one ounce of it. If anything I've seen improvement.
"It's quite scary. It shouldn't be about me. It's about that amazing animal behind us.
"What she's doing for sport and Australian racing, we should all take a bow and say: 'well done, Winx.'
"What she does to horses is simply break their heart."
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Unlike the Peter Moody-trained Black Caviar, who won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2012, Winx has never been tested overseas and hopes that she might run in the Queen Anne Stakes in England in June came to nothing.
Her connections have now set Winx the task of claiming a record fourth consecutive win in the Cox Plate, one of the country's most prestigious races held in the Australian spring.
For a fleeting moment, Winx's record-setting attempt appeared in doubt at Randwick, with Godolphin’s Kementari forcing her wide as she rounded into the straight.
But after dealing with Kementari, the Hugh Bowman-ridden mare swept home to the roars of a packed crowd along the rail.
"When she balanced up and saw the winning post ... what can I say? She's just incredible," Bowman said.
THE HOLDOVERS
Director: Alexander Payne
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa
Rating: 4.5/5
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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UAE SQUAD
Omar Abdulrahman (Al Hilal), Ali Khaseif, Ali Mabkhout, Salem Rashed, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Zayed Al Ameri, Mohammed Al Attas (Al Jazira), Khalid Essa, Ahmed Barman, Ryan Yaslam, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Habib Fardan, Tariq Ahmed, Mohammed Al Akbari (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmin (Al Wasl), Adel Al Hosani, Ali Hassan Saleh, Majed Suroor (Sharjah), Ahmed Khalil, Walid Abbas, Majed Hassan, Ismail Al Hammadi (Shabab Al Ahli), Hassan Al Muharrami, Fahad Al Dhahani (Bani Yas), Mohammed Al Shaker (Ajman)
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
Diriyah project at a glance
- Diriyah’s 1.9km King Salman Boulevard, a Parisian Champs-Elysees-inspired avenue, is scheduled for completion in 2028
- The Royal Diriyah Opera House is expected to be completed in four years
- Diriyah’s first of 42 hotels, the Bab Samhan hotel, will open in the first quarter of 2024
- On completion in 2030, the Diriyah project is forecast to accommodate more than 100,000 people
- The $63.2 billion Diriyah project will contribute $7.2 billion to the kingdom’s GDP
- It will create more than 178,000 jobs and aims to attract more than 50 million visits a year
- About 2,000 people work for the Diriyah Company, with more than 86 per cent being Saudi citizens
Company profile
Name: Belong
Based: Dubai
Founders: Michael Askew and Matthew Gaziano
Sector: Technology
Total funding: $3.5 million from crowd funding and angel investors
Number of employees: 12
Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
