There are two intriguing questions doing the rounds today. Will Winx go to Royal Ascot/? Will Terry Bailey ditch Racing Victoria to go to Singapore?

One question carries a lot of positive vibes, the other carries an entirely different feel.

The Winx issue isn’t simple, but the alternatives are really quite clear-cut. There is a fundamental question – should the great mare stay home and try to win an unprecedented, and probably never to be equalled, fourth Cox Plate, or should she travel to Ascot and prove that she is the world’s best racehorse on turf? The first thing to remember is that Winx has already passed John Henry’s world record for Group 1 wins. That, surely, makes her one of the greatest of all time.  Will racing at Royal Ascot make any difference? Travelling racehorses isn’t without risk. Travel sickness got Saintly when he went to Japan. There is no doubt that Black Caviar was carrying problems, whatever they were, when she fell over the line to win at Royal Ascot. So, any decision about taking Winx to Royal Ascot is a bit of a risk/reward thing. If she goes – and wins – it simply franks her current status. If she goes – and gets rolled – she loses her current status. It’s also worth remembering that Frankel didn’t travel. Neither do the great American horses. Neither do the great Japanese horses. And yes, we do see Japanese horses in Australia’s top races, but we don’t see the really top class Japanese horses. They don’t seem to need the validation of a trip to Royal Ascot, so why does Winx?

To me, it’s all a bit one-sided. Why can’t the top European horses travel to Oz to take Winx on? Surely the Cox Plate, or the Queen Elizabeth Stakes carry enough prize money to be attractive. Or is it just the “colonial cringe” all over again? Maybe the Europeans feel that they need home ground advantage against Winx.

But all of that is immaterial, really. Any decision to travel Winx should be made with one primary consideration to the forefront, and that is simply what is best for the horse? It shouldn’t be about the prize money, Lord knows, she’s trucked in enough of that already! It shouldn’t be about Chris Waller. He’s got nothing to prove at all. It shouldn’t be about the owners. They have had a marvellous experience already. Some horses have a constitution that can stand up to long distance travel, some don’t. The only people who can take a considered view on Winx in that regard are the people who care for her on a daily basis, and that isn’t the owners. So the decision should really come down to Chris Waller, and the Waller team.

For mine, I hope that they decide to give Royal Ascot the flick.

It would be a real tragedy if she performed below her best overseas, and that is a possibility. Last weekend, she won another Ryder Stakes, but was it a win with the authority everybody expected? I don’t think so. She certainly won clearly, but Happy Clapper made her work for it, and Happy Clapper, whilst a very good racehorse, is essentially a better handicapper than he is a WFA competitor. In the Ryder, Wink raced like she is looking for 2,000 metres now. That’s always been her pattern, and that’s what she will get in the Queen Elizabeth. If that assessment is accurate, then the likelihood is that she may blow them all away over that 2,000 metre test. If she does that, then the temptation to go to the well one more time at Royal Ascot will certainly be there. It should be resisted. Her pattern throughout her career has been to work towards a key race, nail it, and go to the paddock. Why should that be fiddled with for no reason other than to appear at Royal Ascot?

I can think of no more fitting end to Winx’s racing career than to win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, go for a spell and come back to a Spring campaign culminating in a fourth Cox Plate. As long as that is a possibility, and a realistic one, why risk it?

The issue of whether or not the rumours about Terry Bailey and Singapore are true or false is a bit less positive. The rumours are certainly doing the rounds, and are not surprising, given the changes that will have to happen to the way the Chief Steward operates once Jamie Stier takes up his new role as Head of the Racing Victoria Integrity Department.

It is fair to say that Bailey’s tenure as Chief Steward of Racing Victoria has had its’ turbulent moments. It’s equally true to say that issues such as resolving the taxi queue of cobalt enquiries, given the current situation with Danny O’Brien and Mark Kavanagh now being exonerated of administration charges, are not going to go away any time soon. That particular situation is simply an example of a botched investigative procedure causing pain for all concerned. Given the fact that Dayle Brown stepped down as chief of the Integrity team before the cobalt saga was concluded, it’s not unfair to ask whether his decision was, in some way, related to it all. Maybe Terry Bailey is also feeling that the kitchen is a bit hot, right now.

In any event, when given the opportunity to confirm or deny that Bailey was Singapore-bound, or at least in discussions about a possible Singapore role, Racing Victoria’s CEO chose to be evasive, and non-committal. That usually fits into the “smoke and fire” category. It doesn’t fit into the category of being open and straightforward with the racing public. But then again, that’s how Racing Victoria seems to operate.

I hope that the rumours are factual. Racing in Victoria needs a new approach, a completely new approach, to dealing with integrity issues. Jamie Stier’s appointment provides such an opportunity, but it’s difficult to see how the opportunity can be really grasped as effectively as it needs to be grasped if Terry Bailey is still Chief Steward. What’s that old saying about leopards and spots?