With Winx retiring comes the obvious question: who will she go to first?
Lots of social media comments have Justify, American Pharoah and Snitzel high on the list. Personally, I think she grew rather fond of staring at The Autumn Sun during training and that relationship should be consummated.
But all that aside, it brings us to a low key maiden at Bendigo on Tuesday afternoon. Why…well bear with me re this segue.
Winx the Champion goes to stud this year following in the footsteps of our past two Champions, Black Caviar and Makybe Diva. And while both of them have produced winners, neither has produced anything near themselves in talent.
Makybe Diva may go closest with her daughter Divanation showing abundant talent chalking up her 2nd career win last week.
And hence, the segue. Today at Bendigo another Makybe Diva daughter hits the race track for the first time. Her name is not surprisingly Demand Attention.
She appears in race 3 over 1300m and she is by Starspangledbanner. Chris Waller, who just watched Winx leave his stable, is her trainer.
She’s a 3YO and Michael Dee rides. Off her two trials to date, she will have trouble winning. She gets back, carries her head very high and runs on only fairly.
Maybe race day will bring out the best in her but she is up against another amazingly well bred galloper in Tides, and Tides should be winning this.
Tides is by Fastnet Rock from the city winning mare The Broken Shore. When The Broken Shore was a yearling, she cost $1.9million at auction. This is because she is a half-sister to Gr 1 winner Platinum Scissors, Gr 1 winner Manhattan Rain, Gr 3 winner Sliding Cube and of course multiple Gr 1 winning Champion 3YO turned breed-shaping Champion stallion in Redoute’s Choice.
The Broken Shore has earned her money back in spades for those who went to $1.9million for her.
As a mum she has had just one baby to sell, a horse named Groundswell and he fetched $2.3million. Tides was retained by her breeder and races this afternoon for the Arrowfield Group.
I’ll be cheering them on, but both Makybe Diva’s daughter and Redoute’s Choice’s niece battle it out today for a purse of – $35,000.
