Edward Cummings is not going to Randwick expecting Duais to win the Winx Stakes, but he won’t be surprised if she does.
Prominent in markets for the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cups, the mare makes her seasonal return in Saturday’s Group 1 race and while the 1400m journey is short of her best distance, Duais typically sprints well fresh.
A fast-finishing third in the Cameron Handicap (1500m) first-up last spring, she was again doing her best work late in a fast-run Apollo Stakes (1400m) when launching her autumn, and Cummings cannot fault her build up to Saturday.
“We’re keeping in mind that her greater goals are further down the track, but I was very impressed with her work in her trial at Warwick Farm,” Cummings said.
“She did have a jump out at home on the horse proper and she has put in a couple of gallops that, to my eye, show is even a little bit sharper in her action this time around.
“She does have a pretty decent first-up record, even including her run in the Apollo in the autumn where she was the best finishing horse in the race.
“The bottom line is, if we see her hitting the line strongly, we’ll be pleased. Anything more than that as far as placings go will be a bonus.”
As it does most seasons, the Winx Stakes (1400m) has attracted a deep field that includes last year’s winner Mo’Unga, Cox Plate runner-up Anamoe and emerging four-year-olds Profondo and Fangirl.
The winner of the Australian Cup-Tancred Stakes double in the autumn, Duais has already proven her weight-for-age credentials at the highest level but Cummings views Saturday’s assignment as an important spring pointer.
“It’s typically a pretty good race. The honour role of horses that have won the race tells you that, and the races they have gone on to win through the spring,” he said.
“While it is only a first-up run for the season, it’s an important race in so far as it often indicates how your horse will fare a bit later on in the spring.”
Mares have a good record in the Winx Stakes winning five times in the past decade, highlighted by the three-year dominance of the race’s namesake between 2016-18.