Here’s the problem with writing opinion pieces – sometimes you have to be off-side with popular opinion. So today I’m in Grinch-mode!

The two big sacred cows for the racing industry in Australia at present are The Everest, and the mighty mare, Winx. The richest race on turf in the world, and, arguably, the greatest turf racehorse in the world. But – what is The Everest really all about, and what’s happening with Winx?

Let’s take The Everest first. There is no doubt that, in Australian terms, it will be a race that features the top sprinters in the country at this time, but the question has to be asked – why hasn’t a $10 million prize pool attracted international gallopers? And, what really is the point of putting on the richest race in the turf world if we can’t see our top sprinters tested against the top sprinters from the rest of the world? Before you all jump on me, I do know that Brave Smash is a Japanese horse. But let me correct you, he’s not any more. He’s an Australian Bloodstock syndication now trained by Darren Weir. More power to Australian Bloodstock in securing the horse and in negotiating to have him represent the ATC in their slot. On both counts, that’s a good deal, and good for racing. But Brave Smash is no more an overseas horse any longer than any of the other of the Australian Bloodstock overseas buys. He now has an Australian trainer, Australian owners and races in Australia. We’ve seen him in three Australian starts, and he is potentially a high-class galloper. But after last Saturday’s defeat by a horse just out of provincial class, do we now question his potential? On that pretty plain run, he won’t be carrying my cash against Chautauqua, Redzel, Redkirk Warrior and the others!

Compare the situation with the hype around Delta Blues and Pop Rock in the 2006 Melbourne Cup. Both horses were trained by Katsuhiko Sumii, who had little or no English language skills, and Delta Blues was ridden by Yasanuri Iwata, who had little more. After the race, John Letts tried to do a horseback interview with Iwata, but the language barrier proved too high to overcome. The fact that Japanese-trained and owned horses took out the Cup quinella added a huge international gloss to the Melbourne Cup that has persisted ever since. International horses now target the Melbourne Cup.

Can we really say that the presence of Brave Smash in The Everest will have the same clout, if he wins? I don’t think so.

And where is a truly international contender? Where is the horse, or horses, in quarantine getting ready for The Everest? Why haven’t any of the slot holders approached an overseas owner of an outstanding sprinter? Surely there must be an outstanding sprinter, or three, out there. At one stage we had the USA’s Lady Aurelia in line for an Everest slot. Not any more. Then the UK’s Caravaggio was possibly coming. Not any more.

Why is this so? Well, the highest rating sprinter on the Longine’s World’s Best Racehorse Rankings is our very own Chautauqua, sitting there with a rating of 123. The next highest sprinter is Lady Aurelia at 122, and then Caravaggio at 121. But it’s slim pickings thereafter for sprinters, with Australia’s Le Romain coming in as the next highest sprinting ranker at 120. With all due respect to Le Romain as a very good racehorse, I don’t think that there would be a long queue to back Le Romain to consistently beat Chautauqua over 1200 metres.

So there’s my problem with The Everest. Given the fact that the emphasis of overseas breeders is on breeding for the classic distances over and above 1600 metres – at the minimum – The Everest was always going to struggle to be a truly international event. And if that can’t happen, can, or should the $10 million raised by The Everest concept be justified. What is the point of having another version of the Newmarket, or the Tommy Smith, but just with more prizemoney? Maybe the old saying is right – the rich get richer!

Now to Winx.

Three out of three this campaign can’t be bad. But have you watched the races? Missing the start in the Warwick Stakes was certainly nerve-wracking, but she always looked likely in the run. She never looked under enormous pressure. Then chasing down Red Excitement in the Chelmsford was a bit trickier. 150 metres from the post, Winx looked a risk and 50 metres from the post she was home. Brilliant ride from Josh Parr on Red Excitement, but again, 50 metres out, those who took the shorts on Winx felt pretty smug, and again, Winx simply did not look to be under great pressure.

Now to the George Main. If you watch the race carefully, Hugh Bowman was niggling at Winx from the 800 metres. That isn’t something I’ve seen before. And with 200 metres to go, Hugh gave her a couple around the bum. I’ve certainly not seen that before! And yes, she did get home, and the last 20 metres or so was pretty soft, so the motor is still there. But, she didn’t race like a happy horse in that first 800 metres or so.

Any trainer will tell you that horses are complicated critters. Some are sweethearts, some have a mind of their own. Sunline, as an example, was never happier than when she was taking a bite out of whoever happened to be nearest! Some horses just get to a point where they don’t want to be racehorses any more. I’m not saying that is happening with Winx, but the Winx I saw in the George Main was a very different Winx to the Winx that blitzed last year’s Cox Plate. The saving grace may be that there is no other middle distance performer leaping into the frame as a contender to knock off the mighty mare, but it would be foolhardy indeed to think that Winx is as bulletproof as before. Just ask the guy who reportedly had $70,000 on her at $1.08 in the George Main how he felt with 200 metres to go!

I don’t want to see her get rolled, either. But she’s a 6 year old mare now, and sometimes their thought turn to other things at that age. It’s worth a thought, punters.

By Rob Young