Does Winx need to travel?
The most obvious – and recent – example of the above is the genuinely wonderful and underestimated So You Think who had an unrivalled five Group One race wins in each hemisphere.
But the rich history dates well beyond So You Think’s exploits from 2011 and 2012. It, of course, begins with the immortal Phar Lap in the 1930’s. The travelling Cox Plate winners have been:
PHAR LAP: Won the Cox Plate in 1930 and 1931. He ventured to Mexico to win the rich 1932 Agua Caliente Handicap, in a track record time, beating a field which included Preakness Stakes, Louisiana Derby, American Derby and Saratoga Handicap winners.
AJAX: The 1938 Cox Plate winner didn’t race overseas but did venture aboard and is best known, aside from being beaten at 1/40 after 18 straight wins, for being sold to none other than Bing Crosby to stand at stud in the States.
NOLHOLME: The 1959 Cox Plate winner failed to win a race in the States but was competitive in several major races and certainly made his mark at stud. He was placed in the Orange Bowl, Chicago, Stars and Stripes and Bougainvillea Turf Handicaps.
Noholme’s second crop of just 40 foals yielded 24 two-year-old winners, a North American record and his offspring included the outstanding Nodouble.
TOBIN BRONZE: Won in 1966 and 1967. He was flown to America just one week after that 1967 win and, on a limited preparation, finished third in the Washington International on his American debut behind Fort Marcy and Damascus – both US Horses of the Year and Hall of Famers. He won four races in his new home.
DARYL’S JOY: Won in 1969. In the USA, he carried top weight of 58 kilograms to win the San Luis Obispo Handicap at Santa Anita which was his third straight win there. He also won the Del Mar Handicap and the Oak Tree Invitational.
STRAWBERRY ROAD: Won in 1983. With former Australian trainer John Nicholls training him from Chantilly in France, Strawberry Road won the Grosser Preis Von Baden in Germany before finishing a brave fifth to Sagace in the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe. He then finished third in the Washington International in 1984. The following year, trained by Patrick Biancone, he won twice in France and ran second to Pebbles in the Breeders Cup Turf.
Then, in 1986, he won the last feature race of his career, the Arcadia Handicap at California’s Santa Anita Park when prepared by Charlie Whittingham who’d earlier trained, in the US, Tobin Bronze and Daryl’s Joy, with the latter also winning the Arcadia Handicap.
BETTER LOOSEN UP: Won in 1990 and, of course, took the Japan Cup a month later.
SUNLINE: Won in 1999 and 2000 and later won the Hong Kong Mile and finished third in the Dubai Duty Free.
SO YOU THINK: After his successive wins in 2009 and 2010, So You Think embarked on the most extraordinary (and successful) international campaign. It’s easy to forget just how good he was.
So You Think won four of his first five starts in the UK and Ireland. His one narrow defeat was behind Rewilding in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot when Ballydoyle totally butchered the tactics. He then finished fourth in the Prix de l’arc de Triomphe when he was simply never put into the race.
The Champions Stakes followed, at Ascot, and he was probably beaten fair and square into second place behind the evergreen and capable Cirrus Des Aigles who was then probably at his peak and had won three of his previous four starts by an aggregate of 21 lengths.
Immediately behind So You Think, in that Champions Stakes, was no less a trio than Snow Fairy, Midday and Nathaniel with the last named – the following year – not finishing much further behind Frankel in the same race.
With seven runs for the season already under So You Think’s belt, it was somehow decided it would be a good idea to have a crack at the Breeders Cup Classic on dirt and then – what the heck – we’ll try the Dubai World Cup first-up on Tapeta! He then, sensibly, returned to the turf and rounded out his career with two further Group One wins.
To the above list, we can add the international exploits of Cox Plate competitive horses including Shaftesbury Avenue, Let’s Elope, Naturalism, Elvstroem, Haradasun, Starcraft, Horlicks and Sailor’s Guide.
This list, exclusive to horses who ran in the Cox Plate, excludes other great international performers such as Shannon and Balmerino; not to mention leaving out our Royal Ascot winning sprinters.
The point is (aside from reminding myself just what a good horse So You Think was) is that Australian and New Zealand-bred horses have been proving themselves all over the world for almost 100 years. Perhaps more so than any other nation. We have nothing to prove.
The depth of quality among horses from the UK and Europe may well be greater than ours but elite horses can emerge from anywhere – from Hungary’s Kincsem to South America’s Invasor and Bayakoa to South Africa’s Horse Chestnut to Australia’s Winx.
Freakishly good horses also emerge from the so called lesser states of Australia and from the ‘lesser’ countries, counties and provinces of the UK and Europe. The region of origin is irrelevant.
The wider racing world ought to be able acknowledge that any horse who wins 24 straight (including 17 Group One’s) is pretty, damn good. Winx certainly has nothing prove! She doesn’t need to travel. But the best of British luck to them if they decide to do so.