Winx has had the perfect preparation for historic Cox Plate bid

Wonder mare Winx has had a perfect preparation for her tilt at a historic fourth Cox Plate and trainer Chris Waller could not be happier with her condition as she prepares for her date with destiny at the Valley on Saturday.

''She looks perfect to my eyes and that's the way the preparation has unfolded,'' Waller told journalists after Winx galloped at Moonee Valley's Breakfast with the Best on Tuesday morning.

''Tracking in comparison on last year, her weight and her blood is good and most importantly she is well.

''We have not been able to fault any stage of her preparation, right from her time when she had a holiday.

''Her pre-training going through to her first-up run has been as we had hoped, and she is here on the Tuesday morning four days out from her fourth Cox Plate and I would not have changed anything.

''She is absolutely perfect.

'She just does maintenance work now.

''All the hard work is done, basically her race two and a half weeks ago, the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, is what I would call her final piece of work.

''It's like a semi-final for a racehorse and the three-week gap allows them time to recover from that race properly and then just steadily build towards the grand final, and here we are on the eve of Saturday and she is in perfect order.''

Waller has little sympathy for those who say she has been gifted the chance to make history with many of her rivals dodging a confrontation with a horse who has beaten them so often.

The English trained galloper Benbatl is the only one in the market under double figure odds to challenge her.

''It's utter nonsense, any race is hard to win,'' said Waller.

''It's the Cox Plate, it's the best of what Australia can bring together, and horses from the other side of the world have the opportunity to travel here.

''Each and every year it's the best race of the spring in terms of weight for age.

''It's a good time for the European horses to come over because it's the end of their season, and it's a good chance for the three-year-olds to fly their flag if they think they are good enough and prepared to cope with the Cox Plate pressure.''

Article courtesy of Fairfax Digital and The Brisbane Times