A Horse Named Winx (2024). Documentary: Sport. Chris Waller, Hugh Bowman, Winx, Andrew Rule. Director: Janine Hosking. Writer: Andrew Rule. Running time: 1hr 57 mins.
Back in the day, I went to Flemington a couple of times. For me it was all about the dress-ups and the champagne and a small bet on a prettily named horse. Around me though were serious punters and those who knew about bloodlines and horseflesh and the state of the track and who was the one to watch at long odds.
I was not sure what to expect with this documentary about Winx, the champion mare who had 33 successive wins and won the heart of the nation. She has been called a modern-day Phar Lap and watching this I think she certainly has a heart as big as Old Red. I was uplifted by the documentary and as the races were called (big yellow numbers on the screen) I almost felt myself barracking for Winx as she came flying down the straight to victory.
What this documentary provides is the inside running on what it takes to find a champion and the teamwork needed to keep the horse as both a beloved creature and a financial investment, safe, happy and ready to race. Winx’s story had an ordinary beginning, and her pedigree was lacklustre. She was wilful and skittish and could be aloof at times, as one of the commentators said she could be briefly generous with affection and then resume her Greta Garbo mode. We get to see how much her strappers, Umut and Candice, love her and the degree to which she is cossetted once she starts winning big time. But winning and winnings are not the prime consideration.
She had a few early races in Queensland and some wins and places but nothing exceptional and there was some loss of confidence. However, under trainer Chris Waller she develops into a champion who seems to know intuitively when to move from the middle of the pack and take that fast run to the finish line. We see Waller’s devotion to Winx and his admission that he was in awe of the Bart Cummings, Tommy Smith and Gai Waterhouse. What comes across is Waller’s modesty, persistence and outright love for this horse. There were tears in my eyes when he explained how he had missed family events because Winx was racing. Waller wouldn’t have changed a thing. Jockey Hugh Bowman’s life was also changed riding Winx who won four Cox Plates in a row.
Rule’s narration captured the excitement of those trackside. Moonee Valley racecourse in full fever is a cauldron, a gladiatorial stadium, a bull ring, the AFL Grand Final as frenzy grows around the horse and her success. The footage of the races was good. I liked the odd horse/ jockey cam to get that feeling of almost being in the race. We learn that Winx had a phobia about barriers and her stride rate was 170 per minute compared to other horses at 130-140 per minute. Facts and figures were used as necessary, and the soundtrack was occasionally jaunty, sometimes symphonic and complemented what was happening in the documentary.
As a viewer, we hear that Winx’s first foal was stillborn and later she had to have a bowel resection. I have a newfound respect for equine specialist who earlier performed keyhole surgery on her leg to get her back to peak fitness. When she retired in 2019 she was regarded as the best horse in the world. Recently, her only foal sold for a record $10 million at the yearling sales. Good bloodlines.
Many Australians enjoy a day at the races, the Melbourne Cup sweep, heading out to Randwick or Flemington or just popping into the TAB for a flutter. This documentary is one for all the family – surely an odds-on favourite!
Release date: 5 September
Image: Jockey Hugh Bowman riding Winx celebrates after winning race 9 the Ladbrokes Cox Plate during the 2018 Cox Plate Day at Moonee Valley Racecourse on 27 October 2018. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)