THE SUNSHINE COAST NEWSPAPER COLUMN: WIN, LOSE OR DRAW IT IS TIME TO JOIN IN THE CELEBRATION

By Graham Potter | Friday, October 27, 2017

Graham Potter writes a weekly column for the Sunshine Coast daily. Due to demand from those having trouble accessing the paper these columns are now also published on HRO courtesy of the Sunshine Coast daily.

It is no mystery that when the racing industry has cause to celebrate hard that celebration is prompted by a racehorse of outstanding ability who has captured the public’s imagination in a manner which allows the spotlight to shine brightly on an industry which, more often than it would like, has had to fight off the ropes to repair its image after some man-made setback.

Tomorrow will be a big celebration.

Sure, the old adage remains true ... ‘there is no certainty in racing’ ... but also, in truth, Winx will be the closest thing you are ever going to get to that when she goes out tomorrow to try to become only the second horse (after Kingston Town) to win three Cox Plates.

Yes, we can marvel at the fact that she has carved out a winning sequence which is now starting to threaten the all-time record of Black Caviar, or, at the fact that a win tomorrow will make her the highest stakes earner in Australian history.

We can recall the memorable manner in which Winx has claimed victory on occasions, from that scintillating run at the Sunshine Coast, which kicked off her unbeaten run, to some spellbinding recent victories in which she twice looked beaten but simply did not know how to lose.

The raw statistics speak for themselves but Winx’s true value to racing transcends all of that because she is now of a status where she activates that special, infectious national celebration of a champion racehorse where ever she goes.

She is, quite simply, a celebrity. From the tie up stalls to the race action she is the star on track attraction. She not only fills the track with people but she takes those spectators to a new level of enthusiasm.

At other tracks across the country racegoers get into position early to watch Winx’s race. They pull up chairs or stand, many deep. Expectation turns to a deeper admiration and they applaud spontaneously when Winx gets the job done ... again. Jockeys go out slightly late for their rides with one eye firmly on the television ... firmly on Winx.

It is just so good to have a horse dominating the racing headlines for a change.

The certainty is that racing owes Winx a debt of gratitude.

It's time to join that celebration.

Cheers!