Winx takes aim at Black Caviar's record

Winx continues to set records in Australian racing.

The 7-year-old mare can win her 26th consecutive race in the Group 1 Winx Stakes at seven furlongs at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday. A win in the $362,200 race, which was formerly known as the Warwick Stakes, would break Black Caviar’s record of consecutive wins by an Australian-based horse.

Winx tied Black Caviar’s record with a win by 3 3/4 lengths in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in April.

One deep-pocketed bettor is convinced Winx will win Saturday. A record future-book bet of approximately $101,416 was placed at odds of 1-10 earlier this week on Winx, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph of Australia.

The Winx Stakes, which has a post time of 1 a.m. Eastern, or 10 p.m. Pacific on Friday, drew a field of 11. Winx, trained by Chris Waller, will break from post 5 and will be ridden by regular jockey Hugh Bowman.

Saturday’s race will be the third consecutive year Winx has started in this race. The 2016 Warwick Stakes was the 10th win of the current winning streak.

Last year, the Warwick Stakes was the 18th win of the streak and had a touch of drama. Winx started slowly and rallied from about seven lengths off the pace to win by a head over stablemate Foxplay.

The Winx Stakes is designed as the start of an Australian spring campaign geared to prepare Winx for an unprecedented fourth consecutive win in the Group 1 Cox Plate on Oct. 27 at Moonee Valley Racecourse. The Cox Plate is Australia’s leading weight-for-age race.

Saturday, Winx’s main rival is Kementari, winner of the Group 1 Randwick Guineas in March. Owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing and trained by James Cummings, Kementari was third behind Winx in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes on March 25 at Rosehill Gardens.

Kementari has had one start since being rested in the Australian winter – a second in the Group 2 Missile Stakes at six furlongs on Aug. 4 at Randwick.