Winx back in the paddock

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Gelding, Kaiwah and his new mate Winx happily sharing a feed tub in a paddock at Hermitage Thoroughbreds at 'The Oaks'. Photo: Virginia Harvey

WHILE researching a recent story of a silage donation - homegrown and produced from Hermitage Thoroughbreds at "The Oaks" - The Land's Thoroughbred correspondent, Virginia Harvey, was happily confronted with a wonderful site of mighty mare Winx leisurely grazing in a paddock with her new "mate" the gelding Kiawah.

Being a long-time Thoroughbred lover, it was also such a bonus for me to see her looking so happy and contented that day after bringing such joy to her owners, connections and millions of fans not only around Australia but across the globe.

For a horse that has not seen the stars since a three-year-old, and not had any "free" horse-touching time, it was heart-warming to see her in a relaxed paddock atmosphere.

Taking it in her stride, she was freely mingling with her new found friend sharing the same paddock, this being a whole new way of life for the $26 million earning racemare.

According to Olly Koolman, racing manager of Hermitage Thoroughbreds, it was only the second day Winx and Kiawah had been in the paddock together.

"He (Kiawah) is very laid back and plays as nanny sometimes to our young horses," said Olly.

When training at Rosehill, Olly had prepared the now 18-year-old Desert King gelding who won four races and had 10 placings for $103,240.

Olly and I could see Winx happily mooching around with Kiawah, being totally relaxed, grazing, and reverting to the natural horse habits of nuzzling and mutual grooming normally displayed by contented horses.

They had obviously come to some "horsey arrangement" that only the pair could understand.

"My observation of seeing her siding up to Kiawah while eating and sharing the same feed bin at the same time, indicates to me that she will ably take on her new role of being a mother," said Olly.

"She has fondly taken to Kiawah very quickly."

This is just a taste of reality for the seven-year-old mare, the owners yet to decide and announce which stallion she will visit this year for her maiden season at stud.

Meanwhile, the Australian Turf Club announced this week that Winx will be permanently immortalised at Randwick Racecourse with a new public spectator facility to be built and named in honour of the mighty mare.

To be erected alongside the Queen Elizabeth Stand on Randwick's Leger Lawn, the stand is to cater for 5000 spectators, and is hoped to be opened for the running of The Everest in October 2020.

Mighty Winx becomes ‘super mum' for the first time

The mighty mare gave birth to a healthy filly foal by Pierro overnight in the Hunter Valley.

Owners Peter Tighe and Debbie Kepitis confirmed the news on Saturday morning that Winx had delivered her filly foal.

"Both Mum and foal are healthy and doing very well,'' the statement read.

"Thank you to the amazing team who have cared for Winx and her filly throughout this journey.

"We wish Winx all the best as she starts this new chapter as a ‘Super Mum'.''

Winx has been retired from racing for more than three years but she is still revered by race fans around the world.

Trained by Chris Waller, Winx ran her final race in the 2019 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick, scoring her 33rd win in succession including a world record 25 at Group 1 level. She earned more than $26.4 million prizemoney, also a world record.

Winx won the Group 1 Caulfield (now Might And Power) Stakes on this day six years ago.

Winx tragically lost her first foal by I Am Invincible in 2020.

She was not served again that year and instead given the time necessary to recover from her ordeal.

The mare's ownership group then announced Winx would be served by Pierro last spring and their filly foal was born overnight.

Pierro is the best son of champion sire Lonhro and has an emerging nick with Winx's sire Street Cry with the likes of Group 1 Blue Diamond winner Lyre and The Everest placegetter Osborne Bulls which is another compelling reason for Winx's owners selecting the stallion for their mare.

So, no foal to Snitzel.

(If one of you clever people can post the announcement made today.)

I’m a fan of not breeding mares every year, but it’s starting to sound like she’s a tricky one.

Keen to hear what others here think.

"Australia’s greatest ever race mare Winx will not have a Snitzel foal next season after connections confirmed the 10-year-old broodmare would be having a season off.  Winx has her stunning Pierro filly at foot but is not in foal to the super stallion Snitzel, who is a four-time Australasian champion sire, as had been initially planned.

In a tweet from the official Winx account of the Tighe, Kepitis and Treweek families, it was announced: “It’s not the update we were hoping to provide, sadly it wasn’t meant to be this year for Winx and Snitzel”.

ps Having a season off, posted a whole two months after she foaled the Pierro filly?  Suspect there might well be far more to this than meets the eye.

pss apart from the confusion, aren't people totally sick of bullsh1t hype from breeders etc?  Having seen a couple of photos her foal appears far from "stunning". I suppose had it been a colt it would have been described as "cracking".  

Winx made winning routine on the racetrack but motherhood is proving far more challenging.

After the celebrated birth of her first foal two months ago, Winx has failed to fall pregnant again this breeding season.

This means the mighty mare will not produce her second foal until the spring of 2024 at the earliest – more than five years after she contested her final race.

Part-owner Peter Tighe confirmed Winx has failed to get back in foal after visiting Arrowfield Stud's super sire Snitzel a few weeks ago.

"Winx was served once by Snitzel but the (pregnancy) tests returned negative, she is not in foal,'' Tighe said.

"There were plans to send her to Snitzel again but she wasn't ready. We were hopeful she would get back in foal this year so it's disappointing but that is Mother Nature.

"It was getting very late in the season and our first priority is always Winx's health and well-being.

"The ownership group just felt it would be in Winx's best interests to give her a year off and she will be better for it.''

Winx made headlines again around the racing world when she gave birth to a filly foal by Coolmore's champion sire Pierro in early October.

Tighe said the good news is Winx is a "doting Mum" to her two-month-old filly.

"Winx keeps a close eye on her foal,'' Tighe said. "Everything is going well with the filly, she is strong and healthy.''

Tighe said it was "too early" to say whether Winx would return to Snitzel in the 2023 breeding season.

"There is no reason not to go back to Snitzel but that is not something the owners have discussed yet,'' he added.

Winx won 37 of her 43 races, including 33 in succession to close out her career. She won 25 times at Group 1 level and earned a world record $26.4m prizemoney.

But it hasn't been plain sailing for Winx at stud with the mare tragically losing her first foal in 2020. She was given a year to recover then produced her first foal earlier this spring.

Meanwhile, champion broodmare Jade Tiara has passed away. She was 29.

Jade Tiara, who resided at breeder Ian Smith's Edinburgh Park at Taree, is famous as the dam of Hong Kong's super sprinter Silent Witness.