Horse Racing Betting Roundup: Odds Favorite Winx Leads Cox Plate Market

Three-and-a-half years after the immortal Black Caviar retired, Australian horse racing once again has a star worthy of promotion in her own right after Winx's brilliant return to the track last Saturday.

In the lead-up to her return in the Warwick Stakes, the Australian Turf Club ran a short advertising campaign with the catchphrase 'Winx is Coming' based on a pop culture reference to Game of Thrones' slogan 'Winter is Coming.'

It's a reference that will undoubtedly be made throughout her campaign for a second Cox Plate, and the seasonal nature of it is appropriate. This coming spring season of racing is all about one horse: Winx.

The five-year-old mare has built an impressive resume over the past 18 months, compiling a 10-race unbeaten streak which has included six wins at the Group 1 level.

She announced herself as the star of Australian racing with her record-breaking win in last year's Cox Plate. But if all goes to plan this year, she should transcend the ordinary racing narrative and burst into the wider public mainstream.

Winx is sitting as a $2.25 betting favorite, according to website AustralianGambling, for Australia's best weight for age race at Moonee Valley on October 22, shortening from $2.75 after her 3.5-length win in Saturday's Group 2, 1,400-meter race.

Only genuine racing superstars are that short two months out from a Cox Plate, and only three horses in the past 30 years have started odds-on on raceday, which she will undoubtedly do should she win her three coming preparation races.

Racing has been searching desperately for the rare nugget of a people's champion since Black Caviar's retirement after 25 consecutive wins. Instead, it has endured an avalanche of negative publicity on everything from doping, to political infighting to horse welfare.

But Australians love nothing more than a winner on the track and Winx, who has reeled off an amazing streak of wins, is exactly that.

She has won 14 of 20, but more importantly, now has a perfect 10. It is a long way short of Black Caviar's 25 straight, but as it stands, she could well end this spring with 14 consecutive victories and two Cox Plate victories.

Should she do that, Winx would go from champion mare to nationally recognized hero.

Her next assignment is likely the Chelmsford Stakes at Randwick on September 3, and then the Group 1 George Main Stakes at the same track two weeks later. She will then have a further lead-up run, likely to be in the Caulfield Stakes in Melbourne on October 8.

In terms of the Cox Plate, the market would indicate she doesn't have one clear rival, but her challengers are likely to come from one of two groups.

The international contingent will be key—with Highland Reel beaten into third by Winx last year—likely to return along with several other highly credentialed rivals.

The other unknown is the three-year-old contingent, likely to only emerge in the weeks leading up to the Cox Plate. 2013 winner Shamus Award and 2009 winner So You Think both came off beaten runs in the Caulfield Guineas to win the Cox Plate from the front at big odds.

There is a lot that can happen between now and October 22, but if trainer Chris Waller gets his plans right, we could be toasting a worthy successor to Black Caviar as the Queen of the Turf in a couple months' time.

Meanwhile, the focus in North America this fall will be on the Breeders’ Cup, with California Chrome the early betting favorite on the the Breeders’ Cup Classic odds at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. California Chrome is the +275 favorite (wager $100 to win $275) for the race, which will be held November 5.