Bookies take no chances on Winx at Chipping Norton Stakes

NO prizes for guessing who has opened as favourite for Saturday’s Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.

The darling of Australian racing, Winx, has opened as the -1000 favourite at Sportsbet.com.au to make it 15 straight wins in Sydney’s feature race this weekend.

Long-term sparring partner of Winx, Godolphin’s Hartnell – who will be mounted by Brenton Avdulla after James McDonald’s suspension and James Doyle’s wrist injury – is the only other runner under double figures at $8.

The last two races – the 2016 Cox Plate and last week’s Apollo Stakes – the pair have raced in have delivered a Winx-Hartnell exacta, which paid less than the previous year’s winner of each respective race.

Trainer Chris Waller said Winx will head into the weekend’s race in optimal racing condition,

“We weighed her and she’s put on a couple of kilos since the ­Apollo,” Waller said.

“So she is holding her racing weight and that’s important. She is fit and our job is to ­maintain that and keep her going through the preparation and she’s as good as she can be.”

The Winx After Work promotion displayed just how popular the wonder mare is to the Australian sporting landscape, after tens of thousands of punters flocked to Randwick on a Monday to see the champion return to the track.

Theatre of the Horse with Winx #Winxafterwork pic.twitter.com/7iKzY0hscU

— Peter Max (@poochy62) February 13, 2017

Sportsbet.com.au representative Christian Jantzen believes the odds are almost irrelevant when it comes to backing Winx as punters love playing even the smallest part in racing history.

“It wouldn’t matter what price we put Winx up, the punters would have a crack,” Jantzen said.

Chipping Norton Stakes

Markets courtesy of sportsbet.com.au

Winx – -1000

Hartnell – $8.00

Endless Drama – $18

He’s Our Rokkii – $26

Magic Hurricane – $51

Libran – $67

Tavago – $67

Preferment – $101