Original subtitles

(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

FEMALE VOICEOVER: This is the story

of a horseracing fairytale.

It begins with footage

of a very cute but totally ordinary little foal.

Foals who follow the rules

are born between the hours of 11:00pm and 2:00am

and nearly all before dawn.

These are the ones who take hours

to master their wobbly stilts

before they can keep up with Mum.

To be very clear,

this foal definitely isn't our heroine.

The legend of Winx

is about a foal who was different to the rest.

Once upon a time, a plain bay filly

had the sheer audacity to be born in broad daylight.

The stud master noted in the birth report

just how quickly she leapt to her feet.

(MUSIC SOARS)

Still, no sane person

could ever predict that she would one day

be mentioned in the same breath

as Secretariat, Phar Lap, or any of the great ones.

-Now that would be lunacy. -(HORSE WHINNIES)

COMMENTATOR: Look at Winx! She's come from last.

She stormed down the outside. Oh, what a win!

Winx just out in front with her powerful strength!

It's a blitz! It's a Winx blitz!

All conditions. All distances. All challenges.

An Australian icon.

The greatest of all time.

(UPLIFTING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

FEMALE VOICEOVER: A world away

from the glamour and glitz of the racetrack,

our leading lady lives out her retirement years

in the luxury deserved of the world's greatest racehorse.

But one thing stays the same.

She still has to be the one out in front.

Showing off, as usual.

Where you goin'?

CHRIS WALLER: When she retired,

I was an emotional wreck.

I just wasn't ready

for, um, telling people what we'd been through

and, um, and the sacrifices

that...we thought we were making at the time

and how personally we took it

and the attention to detail we were going through

and...

They just had to be everything perfect

'cause we just didn't want to be responsible

for letting her down.

ANDREW RULE: So here we are, at last,

telling the Winx story.

And what a hell of a story it is.

It's a great story because it transcends racing.

And to some extent, it transcends sport.

ANDREW: This is the place I call Wallerland.

There's no more Winx but the beat goes on.

Hey, Nora.

(HORSE NICKERS QUIETLY)

Thanks, Jerry.

CHRIS: Every person's important

and you need to be in a team environment.

Thanks, Rosie.

CHRIS: I choose to be there when they start

and to be there when they finish.

Thank you.

ANDREW: He could run hospitals,

he could run factories.

He's just that sort of man.

Get a...get a name tag for him.

CHRIS: Racing's a drug.

Once you've got it in your vein, you can't get it out.

But when you get to taste that success -

whether it be a runner in the Melbourne Cup,

whether it be winning a race at your home track -

you want to do it again.

COMMENTATOR: Cracking filly here.

Just oozes quality.

Look at the size and strength of her.

ANDREW: The Magic Millions yearling sales

are among the biggest and best in the land.

ANNOUNCER: Not you in front.

You're out. You miss. You miss forever.

ANDREW: A lot of wealthy people,

a lot of big trainers, go to those sales.

They go there with blank cheques and high hopes.

You are playing for keeps, you know that.

ANDREW: And only the odd one will be the magic horse.

The big horse. A yearling that ticks every box.

The one you spend your whole career wanting.

ANNOUNCER: 400,000...

(SPRIGHTLY MUSIC)

ANDREW: For most people at the 2013 Magic Millions sale,

lot 329 did not stand out.

CHRIS: She was very tall.

Didn't have a big frame.

Looked a touch fragile to my eye.

Uh, but had these amazing long legs.

Did that mean anything? Probably not.

Hadn't seen any other good horses that looked like her.

ANDREW: The filly that became Winx

was born in the Hunter Valley,

heartland of Australia's thoroughbred country.

Her mother, Vegas Showgirl,

had a pretty ordinary pedigree,

but she made up for it by being a star to look at.

PETER O'BRIEN: She's the best-looking horse

I've ever seen in my life.

They key to her is her rump.

That's where all the drive comes, far as a racehorse.

Obviously the rest,

the next step is picking the right mate for her.

ANDREW: Winx's sire, Street Cry, was bred in Ireland

and he was owned

by the wealthiest horse owners in the world,

the oil sheikhs of the Middle East.

So you're mixing her speed

with Street Cry's sort of stamina.

Winx knew she was good from 10 minutes of age.

She had a bit of attitude about her.

Um, used to take us a couple of people to catch her.

PETER: Wilfulness,

devil-may-care attitude that her mother has.

We vividly remember her when she was about a month of age.

She was off on her own, tearing round the paddock.

ANDREW: The canny bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster

advises Chris Waller which horses his people should buy.

Really big girth and the hind quarters.

So we'll just give him a little walk

and we'll have another look at him, thanks.

The first actual parade where we saw her,

she was just another horse

that went on the list to be reconsidered later.

ANDREW: The bay filly

had a whiff of wallflower about her,

but she had made Waller's shortlist to show to buyers.

You know, we inspect them as well.

We have a look and...

"It's a nice colour"

or "It's, um, you know, got a hairy tail" or whatever.

I don't like odd socks. I don't like long socks.

That's a box I tick.

INTERVIEWER: How would you describe the runners

that you owned before Winx came along?

Ordinary.

(OTHERS LAUGH)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

PETER TIGHE: When we got to the sale,

we'd been there for a couple of days

and we hadn't got any lots

'cause they'd gone too expensive.

And we'd formulated a budget

and I think it was maybe 150, 180,000 maximum.

And...Winx came in to the sales ring.

ANNOUNCER: 329. 329.

The next to come forward from Coolmore, here's the filly.

AUCTIONEER: Street Cry from Vegas Showgirl.

Here's the filly coming forward. Street Cry.

She goes bidding for 80,000.

Ladies and gentlemen, she's on the market

all the way from 90.

How cheap are we gonna get this!

I mean, just a walk in the park.

AUCTIONEER: For sale all the way.

-90. 100. -(MAN EXCLAIMS)

The bidding started getting a bit more ferocious

round about the $150,000 mark.

AUCTIONEER: 180,000.

I had the unenviable task of doing the bidding

but also working out where to stop.

AUCTIONEER: 210, the top.

When the hammer's about to fall...

So, "You really like this horse?"

Guy was sitting there, all nodding.

CHRIS: It was Guy suggesting we go one more,

go one more, go one more.

Well, we'll have one more bid.

AUCTIONEER: 230. 230.

And it was THE last bid.

You know, there wasn't another dollar in it.

You don't wanna be the one

that was the underbidder on Winx.

AUCTIONEER: They sell for 230.

230.

She definitely won't be forgotten in the sales ring.

No. We don't give him too much credit.

Just because he bought the best horse in the world.

-(GUY LAUGHS) -He's still Guy.

(RELAXED INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

ANDREW: Within hours of being sold,

the filly is sent south across the border

to an upmarket boot camp for future champions.

TIM BOLAND: Chris says,

"Tim, I want you to break these horses in."

And then my system is, that will take 26 days,

and then I give him a little bit of a report,

then away we go.

ANDREW: When the filly arrives, she's calm and cool,

totally unfazed

by the demands of being

the new kid in school.

(MAN WHISTLES AND CLICKS TONGUE)

You know, every horse tells you

they've got a story to tell.

They've got a behaviour.

Oh, good girl. (CLICKS TONGUE) Keep walking.

TIM: Amir is a very special... special employee.

AMIR: Whoa.

TIM: The fact that him and Winx got together

was, I've gotta tell you, it was by chance,

'cause he didn't break in many horses here.

He's gentle, he's kind, he thinks like a horse.

AMIR: Good girl!

(WHISTLES)

And after the one week

when we had to put the saddle on, first ride,

I still remember, like, as soon as you jump on her,

she was very easy.

Like, she was just...

She understood the game, what it is.

(HOOVES THUD RHYTHMICALLY)

I used to tell my friend, like, I said, like, you know,

"Do you remember who was the first guy to go on the moon?"

He said, "Neil Armstrong."

I said, "I was the first guy to ride Winx."

(CHUCKLES)

(HORSES SNORT)

TIM: I remember clearly being in the back of her box.

You know, if she was a kid at school,

she'd go to the library at lunchtime.

She's not out bloody watching social media

or doing her nails or something like that,

or being a sports star, but she's just...

In... My memory's of her keeping herself to herself.

There was nothing about her

that says to me that she's gonna be a star.

(READS) "13 August 2013.

"She only came in yesterday

"so haven't had much of a chance to spend time with her

"but my first impressions are that she's a beautiful filly

"and has certainly grown in strength

"since I last saw her, so I was very impressed.

"This morning, she went to the barriers

"and behaved herself well.

"I won't get too serious,

"but we'll try and teach her as much as we can

"and give her a good insight into stable life."

ANDREW: Deep down I think Chris Waller

sees himself as an elite sports coach.

He has a checklist

that his stable staff have to work through.

So he has rules.

Don't speak loudly.

Don't yell at the horses.

Don't hit the horses.

Don't swear at the horses.

Don't turn the radio on with the races

because he thinks that it might excite the horses.

He wants them to be quiet and calm

and to just eat and rest.

And then go out and do their work

and come back, and eat and rest.

CHRIS: They don't need to run fast

in the early part of their training.

They only need to do things right.

We hadn't asked her to go fast.

To be honest,

she was a bit of an ugly duckling in the beginning.

ANDREW: Waller's senior track rider, Ben Cadden,

hadn't taken much notice of the new bay filly

until the morning she went flying past him.

Maybe that was the first sign of greatness.

BEN: Was just going through Chris's system,

and we're just sort of teaching them

how to gallop and get on the right leg.

The one I was on, I thought went alright,

and she absolutely just went by me

like I was tied to the fence.

ANDREW: Before she can race, the filly needs a name.

That job falls to co-owner Richard Treweeke.

(KEYS CLICK)

DEBBIE: And so we went through Richard's list

and we thought, "Short and sweet, Winx. That's good."

Didn't think about

where the name had come from or anything.

Just knew that it was to do with 'wink'.

PETER TIGHE: It was only later when she derived a bit of fame

that Richard gave the reason

why he came up with that suggestion.

Well, she's out of a mare called, um,

Vegas Showgirl.

And if you've ever been to Vegas

and you go to see a couple of shows,

you realise there's some pretty good sorts up on the...

(INTERVIEWER LAUGHS)

You know, cheeky bums and lovely tits

and that sort of thing.

INTERVIEWER: Where does 'Winx' come from?

And if you like 'em, you wink.

(MEN LAUGH)

So you... And then she likes you and she winks back.

-(ALL LAUGH) -It's an X-rated wink.

(ALL CONTINUE LAUGHING)

(JAUNTY BIG BAND MUSIC)

(KISSES AND EXHALES)

Even as an old man, Richard Treweeke was charming

and you could tell that he'd been very debonair.

But he loved women. Loved the fillies.

ANDREW: And had a dash of the James Bond.

You know, sort of the tuxedo type of vibe.

You can imagine him cutting a swathe through the casino

when he was 25 or something.

Here we are in his diary on February 8.

-2013. -Yeah.

"Street Cry. Vegas Showgirl."

And he's looking... (LAUGHS)

He's looking for some names.

-Street Dancer. -Street Nymph.

-Extravaganza. -(WOMEN LAUGH)

ELIZABETH: And then Winx right at the very end.

WOMAN: That was the last one?

ANDREW: So now, Winx - with an X -

is ready to make her debut.

COMMENTATOR: And there they go, off and racing.

Now coming out well,

Shama De Oro in the centre with Aperture.

And on the outside, Felines began well.

Look, they're a long way off the lead settling down.

Veselka's about to go past...

CHRIS: She was back near the tail of the field.

COMMENTATOR: ..Uratta Belle but Felines sprinted.

Winx is coming after him.

CHRIS: This horse in the blue colours

was coming through the pack.

Seemed to sort of get her shoulder down

and have a different type of action.

Like a bit of a misfit.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is closing in on the outside

and is finishing very fast.

Gets a good win.

ANDREW: Race 2.

COMMENTATOR: Inz'n'out's in front

but Winx moved up on the outside.

She responds when asked by the rider and comes away.

Wins an impressive lead.

ANDREW: Race 3.

This time, with a new jockey on board,

a bloke called Hugh Bowman.

HUGH: She was quite a fragile horse

and she was quite underdeveloped.

You know, I wouldn't say she was uninspiring

but she certainly wasn't inspiring

and I certainly didn't think that it was gonna be

the start of a life-changing relationship with a horse.

COMMENTATOR: And Winx strode away with 100m to go.

And she'll remain undefeated.

Winx, a great prospect.

(EASY-LISTENING JAZZ MUSIC)

I was more impressed with her after the race when she'd won.

She'll win the next one. She's won the first three.

She's beaten the same horses.

Along comes this First Seal.

(ROUSING MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: First Seal has hit the lead.

Here's a boilover.

Beat Winx and Earthquake.

From Echo Gal,

then Winx, Press Report and Thinking of You.

But First Seal. Get in the queue if you're on it.

It's raced away and First Seal's gonna be much too good.

Wins it by three. Winx is second.

It's Adrift taking the lead

from First Seal, who's half a length away.

Here's a boilover.

Adrift has won it from First Seal and Slightly Sweet.

COMMENTATOR 2: First Seal certainly get a tick

but the jury has to be out on Winx.

It's getting worse.

COMMENTATOR: And First Seal beats Supara.

Third, Slightly Sweet. Just in front of Amicus.

And then came Winx and Wine Tales,

followed by Adrift and Candelara.

And Fenway gets the money. Blake Shinn.

Winx got too far back.

(MELANCHOLY MUSIC)

She was a forgotten horse.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is trying to pull back the margin

but it's not going to happen.

And Gust of Wind

is roaring away with the Australian Oaks.

Gust of Wind by two and a half lengths to Winx.

Candelara third.

Winx is trying her heart out in second.

She just wasn't up to it on the day.

(MELANCHOLY MUSIC CONTINUES)

CHRIS: I'm looking for a race

that she can get some confidence back in.

She's lost her confidence.

(HOPEFUL MUSIC)

ANDREW: Waller decides to go off Broadway a little

and sends Winx north to the Sunshine Coast Guineas.

Veteran jockey Larry Cassidy gets the ride.

LARRY: I hadn't heard of her before.

-And I typed in W-I-N-K-S. -Yeah.

And it didn't come up and I said, "How do you spell that?"

And he's like, "It's W-I-N-X."

ALAN THOMAS: Going to the Sunshine Coast that day,

was I thinking that

this was gonna be a history-making day?

No, you don't. It's just another day.

She was...she was just another horse when she came up here.

She wasn't a superstar.

(STIRRING MUSIC)

It was the beginning of the...the story, really.

COMMENTATOR: Stand by for a start.

Big field. 18 of them.

Then history unfolded.

-WOMAN: Here we go! -(CLOCK TICKS DOWN)

COMMENTATOR: And the gates open.

They're off and racing.

Now Winx jumped out OK

and she's gonna go back in the second half of the field.

She's back third last when they hit the ground.

LARRY: Instructions were just to go back from a wide gate.

-So you're second last here. -Second last there.

I'm probably two, three off the fence at that stage.

COMMENTATOR: Whatalovelyday on the fence,

followed by Rhodin Drive,

and Hawaydah going around them deep.

Now two and a half to Winx, back second last.

..Code on the outside and...

All sorts of things

are starting to go through your mind.

"Have I made the right decision?

"Have I given her the impossible task?"

COMMENTATOR: ..Drive and Merion.

Whatalovelyday on the fence from Rising Luck.

LARRY: I knew in my mind,

"I've probably got a bit too far back here.

COMMENTATOR: Game of Fame, Eljetem...

ALAN: Because she is the favourite,

you shouldn't take your eyes off them.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is last.

She'll have to come past the 17 of them.

ALAN: When it got to the home turn, she was back last.

I had one last look at Winx.

In my mind, she can't win the race.

Tell us what was happening right here

just after the 400m mark

on that day, in May 2015.

As you can see, the 400m mark's just behind us,

so this is about where I angled her to the outside

of the horse in the pink.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is last.

She'll have to come past the 17 of them.

LARRY: I know I'm gonna run home

but, you know, we're probably too far off them.

She then sort of turned her body.

And you know she's got her head on the side.

And that's when the acceleration come.

COMMENTATOR: Worthy Cause now into the second spot

about to give chase.

CHRIS: She starts to make up a bit of ground.

Well, you can't make up that much ground.

You're gonna run out of petrol.

COMMENTATOR: Worthy Cause, Skylimit.

Ulmann getting up on the fence.

ALAN: I saw a blue flash.

COMMENTATOR: Still a hundred to go. Look at Winx.

ALAN: She can't be there!

COMMENTATOR: Look at Winx! She's come from last.

She's stormed down the outside. Oh, what a win!

Winx got up and beat Ulmann and Worthy Cause

in an amazing performance.

ALAN: Oh, what a win!

DEBBIE: She won!

But the way she won.

(SWEEPING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

LARRY: With 300m to go,

I had like a light bulb moment that,

"I'm gonna beat this lot."

Just the feeling that she gave me and the acceleration.

It's like sitting in a Ferrari

and you're in third and then you chop it back to second.

-And floor it. -And then...and floor it.

LARRY: And I'm sure by this stage of the race,

I had a massive grin on my face.

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

CHRIS: Yeah.

The winning sequence

is...is on its way.

Who would have thought? (LAUGHS)

He never goes over the top, Chris,

and he would say to us that, "She's got ability.

"How much ability, we'll find out."

CHRIS: On comes the Oaks.

We needed her to win this Group 1 race.

Hughie Bowman was committed to the ride.

I'd booked him a long time ago.

Otherwise, Larry would have been on.

And I remember speaking to Larry Cassidy.

He said, "What do you think?"

I said, you know, I said,

"She could be the best horse I've ever ridden."

And he rattled off Sunline... Saintly.

HUGH: There was no mincing his words.

He said, "She's better than Sunline."

And that...

That made me sit down.

He said, "Really?" I said, "Yeah, I know."

I said, "Look..."

I said, "She could have possible champion

"written all over her."

I took it with a grain of salt.

I thought, "That's a big call,

"you know, for a horse that's done what she's done,

"comparing her to Sunline."

COMMENTATOR: Winx has pulled

to the outside.

300m to go.

Imperial Lass has gone

to the lead from Col 'n' Lil.

Here's Winx.

She's winding up and have a look at her go.

Inside the 200m mark and Winx has raced to the lead.

From Imperial Lass, Ungrateful Ellen.

And this is a monstrous win of the Oaks.

Winx is down, three lengths Ungrateful Ellen.

What an exciting victory by Winx.

PETER TIGHE: Mate, unbelievable.

You know, she's got a pretty strong Queensland connection,

so it's number one Group 1 for us in Queensland

and we're ecstatic.

CHRIS: I didn't even expect her to win.

You don't...you don't think like that.

You just go into the race

hoping that they can run up to their best

and fortunately she did.

She showed that she was dominant.

PETER TIGHE: He's a man that remembers where he came from

and, you know, the tough times that he had

when, you know, no-one would give him a horse to train

and he had to prove himself.

ANDREW: If you were painting a picture

of small-town New Zealand, go to a place like Foxton.

And this is the place that Chris Waller came from.

STEPH WALLER: Don't blink 'cause you'll miss it.

You've got a pub,

a pub, a few shops.

It's just beautiful.

There's, um, a little church

where Chris and I went back to get married.

ANDREW: Foxton is the sort of place

that's got a motel in the main street

that's named after a racehorse.

This racehorse was called Castletown.

He was a local hero horse.

Everybody knew who the big trainers were

and the good jockeys.

All the Wallers were riders and they were trainers.

Uh, I had a belief

that I wasn't that talented academically

and that to make something out of my...my occupation,

I had to do something a little extra

and I used to write things down and take notes

and...um, people would have thought

that I was just being methodical

and paying attention to detail,

but the fact was, didn't have a great memory.

I struggled as a horse trainer.

This young guy with a young team of people around him

and his wife turning up at the races most weekends,

getting a win or two.

But that big-race win was elusive.

Coming to Australia, I can remember seeing Tommy Smith.

I can remember seeing Bart Cummings.

I can remember seeing Gai Waterhouse.

Um, but I would try and divert to the side

rather than...have to say hello to them.

I was just in awe of them

but I was embarrassed to sort of be in their company.

Just sort of never really felt

I deserved to be in their company.

I would see it as a good thing,

it's you having respect for people,

but it probably held me back in a big way.

Um...I was pretty...pretty shy

and...and I've seen other people succeed overnight,

and people may say the same about...

..or think the same about me

but I think I did it gradually

and, um, got better and a little more confident.

HUGH: He's a very calculated person

who puts a great deal into everything that he does.

He's very thoughtful and very intelligent.

He's not an easy person to get to know.

He's very introverted.

And...

But he...he's very soft. Very soft.

ANDREW: Right from the start, Winx catches the eye of Umut

who puts his hand up to be her strapper.

I am Umut Odemislioglu

from Turkey, Izmir.

Came to Australia

12 years ago

with a...with a chase to race horses for...dream.

ANDREW: He's a reasonably brusque sort of guy.

He doesn't do small talk.

Winx also gives that impression

of being the cool, aloof professional

and so they suited each other.

BEN: She was like his girlfriend in a way.

He probably spent

more time with her

than his girlfriend, so...

ANDREW: Soon after Winx

returns from Queensland, victorious,

she gets a new strapper to help Umut.

CANDICE: Like, I didn't even love her

that much in the beginning.

I know that sounds really awful to say.

So I would get here

and I would do

the temperatures first.

I'd trottled down.

I had my own little bucket.

I took my thermometer and my little bucket

and I went down and I'd wipe her face.

So then at 3:45 she was ready to go on the walker.

And then I'd just sit out there

until, um, my timer went off.

And then she'd come back from trackwork.

-She'd have a roll. -(WINX SNORTS AND NICKERS)

And she'd have...she'd have to roll both sides always.

(UPLIFTING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

And then I would take her to the wash bay.

She'd get washed. Back to the walker.

So when it was raining,

I used to just sort of huddle up against the corner.

Just check over, "Yeah, still alive."

I'm the only one who brushed her,

so I'd have my little personal Winx kit down outside her box.

'Cause, God forbid,

some other brushes touch her precious skin.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

ANDREW: Whatever is happening behind the scenes

obviously suits Winx.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is about five lengths off

and Ninth Legion heads up,

goes on to hit the lead from Strawberry Boy.

Sons of John driving through. Winx flying.

Oh, did she get there?

Yes, she has. Yes, she has!

She's a serious racehorse

and serious racehorses can overcome problems.

I can take no credit for this horse.

ANDREW: Three weeks later,

the man who rode her to victory

in the Queensland Oaks is back on board.

Bowman vaults onto the tiny wafer of a saddle

as casually as most of us step into a car.

COMMENTATOR: There's Hughie Bowman.

He's already saying, "She's apples."

Can she repeat that brilliant performance in the Theo Marks?

Hugh Bowman aboard.

(GATES OPEN)

And the gates open. They're off and racing.

CHRIS: She was three wide, turning for home,

and there's a scrimmage.

COMMENTATOR: Oh, oh, oh, oh!

CHRIS: Bang. They've collided.

COMMENTATOR: Winx forced even deeper,

with Kirramosa pulling out in front.

CHRIS: She lost balance. Hugh did as well.

COMMENTATOR: The charge is on at the Epsom.

And Hooked and Sons of John have raced up to hit the lead.

It's Hooked and Sons of John from Ecuador.

Now Winx is starting to close in from Kirramosa.

Hooked and Sons of John,

but Winx is starting to unleash

with her powerful strength.

And Winx races up to hit the lead.

CHRIS: Back in the field, storming home.

She's starting to form a pattern.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: Hugh Bowman, the man from Dunedoo,

wins his first Epsom today

and how easy at the finish.

ANDREW: Hugh Bowman looks as if he was born

with a slow heartbeat and just enough nerves to stay awake.

He doesn't even blink much.

He's from six generations of back country horsemen.

It still shows in little ways.

Feet full in the irons,

hands light on the reins.

HUGH: I dunno, I just loved dressing up

and getting on the... on the rocking horse.

I used to call the races. I did the lot.

My mother would come out from the kitchen,

she'd come round and say,

"Now, Hugh, you don't always win.

"You must sometimes let other horses win."

ANDREW: This documentary filmed back in 2001

captures a 21-year-old Bowman

soon after he was named Apprentice Jockey of the Year.

They all thought I was, um, had impaired speech

because I...because I used to speak so slow.

And I s'pose being in the game,

I've sort of quickened my speech up

a little bit since then,

but, yeah, they always used to say,

"Can't you speak any quicker, you know?"

DOCUMENTARY NARRATOR: Make no mistake,

this special young man has the background, the support,

the talent and, most importantly,

the character to overcome any obstacles

and fulfil his goals.

Following the Epsom, we've gotta think about what's next.

Cox Plate?

Well, I doubt it.

It's won by the best horses in Australia every year.

(STIRRING MUSIC)

DEBBIE: To pure racing people,

the Cox Plate is the pinnacle race.

The Melbourne Cup is a wonderful race

and everyone aspires to win it,

but the Cox Plate

is racing's weight-for-age premium race to win.

ANDREW: The winners' list over the past hundred years

is a roll call of Australian racehorse royalty.

COMMENTATOR: But the great grey Gunsynd

in front, he's too good.

What a champion!

COMMENTATOR 2: It's Kingston Town, Lawman.

Lawman in front. Kingston Town wearing him down.

He'll win the million-dollar plate.

COMMENTATOR 3: And Bonecrusher

races into equine immortality.

COMMENTATOR 4: Mahogany, Octagonal.

Octagonal, Mahogany.

Octagonal's got his nose in front.

Octagonal wins the Cox Plate.

COMMENTATOR 5: It's all over for Sunline.

Look at her go!

She might be the greatest in the world, Sunline.

She streaks home in the Cox Plate, fighting back.

COMMENTATOR 6: And it's Makybe Diva

in front of Lotteria.

Fields of Omagh coming back from the middle.

But Makybe Diva, she's the champion!

ANDREW: In 2015, the Cox Plate was an all-male affair.

Almost.

Winx was the only mare in the race.

SONG: ♪ I'm unapologetically fly

♪ Don't wonder why That's just my attitude... ♪

ANDREW: The boosters and the betting

said the best should be Highland Reel,

the brave Irish campaigner,

fresh from winning a Group 1 stakes race in America.

Highland Reel had a mind of concrete.

He was as tough as they come.

ANDREW: Another contender that year

was the Tasmanian cult horse, The Cleaner.

ANDREW CLARKE: The Cleaner was really famous

for a brave frontrunner.

You know, he'd - especially at Moonee Valley -

get to the lead,

kick on the turn and off he'd go.

COMMENTATOR: Three of Chris Waller's Cox Plate runners

are making their way out onto the track.

We've got Preferment going out and Kermadec.

So is Winx.

Which one is the one that you have most confidence in

of winning the race?

Well, I'd have to say Kermadec.

ANDREW RULE: Moonee Valley Racecourse,

the smallest, tightest,

first-class track in the world.

The Valley has been called "a cauldron" and "a cockpit".

It has the blunt shape of a boxing ring

and the crowd has a ringside seat.

(LOUD CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

The noise is deafening.

There's a gladiatorial atmosphere.

A whiff of the bullring.

(ROUSING MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: Alright, the runners are making their way

into the mounting yard

for the William Hill Cox Plate.

The Australasian weight-for-age championship

of Australia,

over 2,040m, worth $3 million.

(FANFARE PLAYS)

-(CROWD CHEERS) -(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(HORSE HOOVES CLICK)

CHRIS: It's the grand final.

She's never been in that type of environment

where the crowd are noisy,

the atmosphere's sky-high.

(FOREBODING MUSIC)

ANDREW: The Cox Plate start

is right at the head of the straight.

The horses line up in the barrier next to the crowd.

It's a big test of their nerves.

COMMENTATOR: Right, they're loading for the Cox Plate.

(CLOCK TICKS)

HUGH: 2,000m race around Mooney Valley.

It's a test of stamina because the pressure's on early.

To get involved in the race, you need speed.

And to win the race, you need stamina.

COMMENTATOR: They're set.

Stand by for the greatest two minutes in sport.

HUGH: When those gates open,

you're standing there at the top of the straight.

It's about 220-odd metres to the winning post,

maybe 250 to the first corner.

If you can establish your position

in that period of time,

it can have a huge...impact

on how you finish the race.

The concentration levels in that time are extraordinary.

You have to have a bit of a plan

as to how things might unfold,

but you also have to be open for change.

-(CLATTERING) -(HORSES SNORT)

You don't have time to be scared.

(CHEERING)

(GATES OPEN)

(CHEERING)

(COMMENTATOR SPEAKS)

COMMENTATOR: ..having to beat for the lead.

Criterion went over the heels at the start.

Complacent, Arod are up there at the post,

and then Mourinho and Gailo Chop not far away.

Down past...

HUGH: I settled to about three lengths back

from Highland Reel who was outside the leader.

The most important thing at the beginning of the race

is that your horse isn't wasting energy

'cause they're gonna need it later.

COMMENTATOR: 1,000 metres to go

and The Cleaner is the leader in the Cox Plate,

Arod a little bit keen, second Highland Reel,

third Complacent deep out,

and then came Winx getting up on the inside...

HUGH: I was stuck in on the fence

and I was just starting to feel for options.

I'm thinking, "We'll need to start to think

"about getting out."

COMMENTATOR: The Cleaner had the skill to lead it.

From on the outside, Complacent and Arod,

Highland Reel are still there from Mourinho.

I've got The Cleaner in front of me.

I've got Highland Reel to the outside.

And all of a sudden, The Cleaner shies at something

and runs off the fence two horses.

Winx's response was unexpected.

She hit the gap like that.

(INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: She's blitzed them in the Cox Plate.

(SQUEALS EXCITEDLY)

COMMENTATOR: Winx has bolted in the Cox Plate

by four lengths to Criterion, Highland Reel ran third,

Pornichet four.

COMMENTATOR 2: It's a track record - 202.98.

HUGH: It was my first major victory.

It was Chris's first major victory.

(EMOTIONAL MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: Hugh Bowman, outstanding ride on Winx.

You've taken a deep breath and you're just so overwhelmed.

HUGH: Um...

All I wanted to be when...

..when I was a little boy was be a jockey.

I just can't believe it, to be honest. (SOBS)

CHRIS: She's just won the race

that Hughie and I dreamed about winning.

That would never be forgotten.

Hugh Bowman would never be forgotten.

And Chris Waller would never be forgotten.

Whether they never won another race again,

they'd won the Cox Plate.

OLLY KOOLMAN: "October 2015.

"She settled into country life at The Hermitage.

"There's plenty of grass.

"She's eating, sleeping, grazing and drinking.

"She's very active in the paddock.

"We often catch her kicking up her heels.

"Perhaps still celebrating."

Yeah, so, we're on a property.

We're, you know, a couple of hundred acres.

ANDREW: Yep.

It was quite convenient

for Chris to send horses out to us.

ANDREW: For 12 weeks,

Winx luxuriates like a film star

at a private chalet.

There was always the company of other elite horses

in nearby paddocks,

but, like Greta Garbo,

she had to be left strictly alone

in her own paddock.

(THUNDER CRASHES)

(SNORTS)

OLLY: "November 2015.

"She slept in the barn this week

"as forecasts of electrical storms

"got the better of my nerves.

"We did get hit with a storm

"but she was well out of harm's way

"tucked in her box with a night light on,

"just bright enough to dull the flash of lightning."

(THUNDER CRASHES)

OLLY: We didn't want a flash.

We didn't want her kicking out at her stable

or reacting to something.

You know, there were times when I slept in the barn.

Just didn't want anything going wrong on my watch.

ANDREW: Winx quickly becomes part of the Koolman family.

ANDREW: What was she like to ride?

-You were just a passenger. -ANDREW: Yeah.

She never did anything wrong.

She could read your mind, knew what you expected of her,

and she just did it.

It was as if she knew she had a purpose

and she knew what her purpose was.

(ENCHANTING MUSIC)

ANDREW: The farm's hill track

provides the ultimate in resistance training.

OLLY: I think it was an integral tool

in developing a young horse,

building their hindquarters up,

strengthen them up through the hocks.

(WINX PANTS)

OLLY: "After a 25 day holiday,

"she's handled the last 22 days

"of trot and canters up the hill

"and is absolutely bursting with energy.

"I am as excited as anyone

"for the autumn."

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: Winx is going through her gears

and look at her go!

Winx! Great return to racing.

SONG: ♪ Come and get some happiness

♪ Come and get some happiness

♪ Nothing's gonna break my stride

♪ Or shake my confidence

♪ Come and get some happiness... ♪

COMMENTATOR: The public cheering her home.

COMMENTATOR 2: They love her, Ronnie.

SONG: ♪ Come and get some. ♪

CHRIS: There's a lot of expectations.

I was just trying to take one day at a time.

(MOODY PIANO MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: We're all set now, ready for the Doncaster.

(GATES OPEN)

(HOOVES THUNDER)

CHRIS: She was making hard work of the track.

For the first time, I'd seen Hugh's arms starting to flap.

Bad sign.

COMMENTATOR: Around the turn.

And Vergara's gone for home, six lengths clear...

CHRIS: I thought she was close to her bottom.

COMMENTATOR: Winx has bottled up.

Bowman goes back to the inside.

She's got daylight now.

Winding up on the outside is Happy Clapper

and Good Project.

Vergara in front.

But here she comes, Winx.

Happy Clapper tries.

So does Azkadelia,

but Winx has drawn clear in the Doncaster.

It is nine in a row.

(CHEERING)

CHRIS: She picked herself up and she came to win the race,

carrying more weight than the opposition.

I thought she was beaten at the half-mile,

let alone the 200-metre mark,

so she must have amazing will to win.

INTERVIEWER: What is it? Do you know?

It can only be that.

(PENSIVE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

(PEOPLE CHEER)

INTERVIEWER: Winx has...

Well, she's got an entourage now of press, media.

There's cameras following her everywhere.

People can't get enough of her.

CHRIS: "I am mindful that it was a very tough run.

"I have never seen her under so much pressure

"at the half mile.

"For her to dig that deep,

"it's really hard to gauge

"how much pain she is putting herself through.

"It's almost unnatural the things she is doing."

ANDREW: Waller pulls Winx out of the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

She's been heavily backed into favourite,

but he has his reasons.

CHRIS: My gut told me that she might have had enough.

Whilst I felt bad and got some abuse

from those that had put money on her in the Queen Elizabeth,

morally, I had to do the right thing by the horse.

Let's get her properly checked out,

make sure she's 100%.

So, this little area here of irregular bone right here,

which is probably about 6mm by about 8mm,

so it's a quarter of your little fingernail,

is what it is,

and that's on the front inside part of her fetlock

and that should all look like this.

Should look nice and smooth, and it's lifted away here,

so it's a little fragment that's just broken away

at some point during... during her exercise

or during a race.

When a small piece of bone comes away,

that little pebble causes irritation

and that irritation causes inflammation

and that inflammation leads to osteoarthritis,

which can then cause, you know,

permanent lameness down the track.

The best thing was to do keyhole surgery

and remove that fragment while she's under anaesthetic

and that's...that's part of the condi...part of the risk,

is that she was gonna have to have a general anaesthetic

to have this procedure done.

So, you've got to take a 500-kilogram horse

and carefully anaesthetise it,

get it to sleep, lift it up

and then put it onto a table,

'cause this procedure's done with them on their back.

CHRIS: Anything can go wrong in surgery.

They're lying down, they're groggy,

they get up, their leg slips, they can fracture a pelvis,

their leg kicks out, they can fracture a leg,

they can bang their head.

It can be catastrophic.

She's not lame, she's never been sore,

there's no heat.

It's probably not gonna affect her.

ANDREW: Waller really had to make a decision.

Do I just keep going and take a chance

she's going to be OK and keep racing her?

Or do I stop her preparation and operate as a precaution

to take this bone chip out?

CHRIS: There was only one option.

That was doing things right, following the vet's advice.

It could affect her long-term.

She could end up getting arthritis,

it might need treatment.

I didn't tell anyone.

It was no-one's business, in my opinion.

I told the owners, of course.

I didn't want to complicate things and scare people.

(GAS HISSES)

Surgery went well.

She woke up and she's on her feet.

ANDREW: And then she's got to recuperate from...from the op,

so they send her up to the farm,

to The Hermitage at The Oaks,

and they travel her up there incognito.

They call her 'Skinner'. They give her an alias.

(INTERCOM BEEPS)

MAN: Skinner's on board.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

OLLY: When I first heard from Chris

that she's gonna...

We're gonna get her to the Cox Plate,

I'll be honest,

I didn't think it was gonna happen.

I thought, "How's...

"Well, let's give it a crack,

"but I don't know if we're gonna be able

"to pull this off, you know."

He's under strict instructions

to try and accelerate the healing process

without doing her any harm.

It's cut it very tight to get her fit in time

to have the lead-up races to get to the Cox Plate.

ANDREW: Waller modifies the veterinary advice

to fit his own experience and instincts.

He writes his plan down for Olly Koolman to follow.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

(HORSES SNORT)

OLLY: And I vividly remember Chris saying,

"OK, now's the time we've got to start hand-walking."

And I was thinking, "How am I gonna bring this horse out

"and hand-walk her and contain her?

"She just wants to explode.

"She just wants to get out there."

So, anyway, I brought her out of the box

and I got her out onto the sharp stones, you know,

and she had bare feet

and I thought, "Well, this is alright. She'll just...

"She'll just walk like a cat on a hot tin roof

"and let's just stretch her legs, you know?"

(ENCHANTING MUSIC)

CHRIS: "She arrived back safely

"into the stable yesterday and she looks well

"and went out for a quiet canter

"this morning.

"Her regular rider Ben Cadden

"was very happy

"with the way she felt

"and also commented on how well she has come back."

(TENSE MUSIC)

CHRIS: And she's...she's picture-perfect,

as you can see.

She's a...a big mare now.

She's never, ever been this strong.

At your command, she's ready to...ready to do something

and wouldn't ever do anything silly, dumb.

COMMENTATOR: Here's the season premiere of Winx.

There's 10 in a row.

(WATER SPLASHES)

COMMENTATOR: 11 in a row.

COMMENTATOR: But Winx is too good.

Far too good.

Went pretty much to plan, I suppose.

ANDREW: Winx has come through Waller's strategy perfectly.

Now the end game.

Well, Saturday's Cox Plate is being hailed as

the biggest match race in 30 years

with Winx going head to head

with emerging superstar, Hartnell.

JAMES: Hartnell was as good as you got in that era.

He was in his career-best form,

he was at a beautiful age where he was peaking.

His lead-up runs were phenomenal.

He was winning by big margins.

(TENSE MUSIC BUILDS)

(CAMERA CLICKS)

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: This is the moment

that we've been waiting for all day.

It's the build-up to the William Hill Cox Plate,

the Group One feature.

$3 million in prize money on offer.

The queen of Australian racing, Winx.

CHRIS: There was divided corners. She had her fans.

Hartnell's captured the underdog rating

of the up-and-comer

that's gonna knock Winx off her pedestal.

COMMENTATOR: Yeah, look, I'm in Hartnell's corner.

He is just winning too well to not tip him.

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

(CHEERING)

HUGH: I could feel the anticipation

of what was about to eventuate.

COMMENTATOR: And they're racing.

And Winx jumps well.

Vadamos was slow to move.

Hartnell got away quickly.

It was put down as a two-horse race

and I knew exactly where Hughie would have been

in the race.

COMMENTATOR: Less than 1,000 metres to go.

HUGH: When we got in the back straight,

I just let her creep up to Hartnell's hindquarters.

COMMENTATOR: Hartnell. Winx has moved up now.

And the two great champions are together

at the 800-metre turn.

HUGH: I just creeped up close enough

so James McDonald could see me.

COMMENTATOR: Happy Clapper pulled to the outside.

JAMES: I didn't think it was gonna be Hughie on my right.

When I seen the white bridle come up,

I couldn't believe what was happening.

(TENSE PERCUSSION MUSIC)

I pushed away for a few strides.

HUGH: I moved up a bit closer

and forced Hartnell to go quicker.

COMMENTATOR: The great race is on here.

It's Hartnell, the leader.

Winx striding up to join him...

JAMES: I look over and you don't really have time

to think about speaking,

but that day, it was quite weird.

I just said, "You're fricking kidding me, Hughie.

"You can't be doing that to me."

(CHEERING)

COMMENTATOR: But Winx has raced away

around the home turn.

She's put two, three lengths on Hartnell.

It almost needed a tow rope, you know?

But he was off and gone.

(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC)

I let her go and the rest is history.

COMMENTATOR: Two in a row

and she joins the all-time greats of the turf.

To get to this stage last year

was something different for me,

but to get back here again, yeah.

For her to win like that is probably pretty fitting

for the horse she is.

It's like a dream.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

CANDICE: The early stages of her prep

is when you could really get her as more of a horse

rather than an athlete.

I think I had a window of maybe, like, a few weeks

where she'd enjoy it when she came back from a spell,

'cause, for some reason,

that's when she was the most loving

and I could actually get some affection out of her.

And, like, I could scratch her and she'd scratch me back.

And I could feed her my apples

and we'd just have a great old time.

It sounds really corny,

but if I was having, like, a rough day,

I'd just go and, like, sit in her box.

She didn't really always pay attention to me,

but she'd just sort of come over and be, like,

"Oh, it's you. You're here. OK, cool."

Yeah, those were the... Those were the cute times.

Bring someone in,

a celebrity, to come and see her,

turn around, put her backside to them.

Bring a young child in, come straight to the box,

puts her head down, gets a nice pat.

She just knew when to turn it on,

she knew when to turn it off.

I think she knew Chris was the boss.

She didn't want to go and stand in the back corner

when he was doing an interview.

She really looked like she knew what was going on

and the interview was on and she was there.

INTERVIEWER: Do you talk to her?

CHRIS: A little bit. A little bit.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

ANDREW: To watch her before a race

was like watching a trained sniper

before they go out and work.

COMMENTATOR: 14 in a row. The winning streak continues.

Winx is back.

ANDREW: Winx's stride has been measured at 6.8 metres,

which is only slightly longer

than that of the average racehorse.

The average galloper's stride rate

has been measured at between 130 to 140 a minute,

but Winx's is closer to 170.

You did somewhat feel like the hunted.

"When is she coming?"

COMMENTATOR: Winx is up on the outside,

stalking Hartnell.

Sort of just waiting for her to flash by.

COMMENTATOR: He hasn't even pushed the button

on the mighty mare Winx

and she's really starting to pull away.

It was like she teased you at times.

COMMENTATOR: Hauraki in third and Winx is inching closer.

She let you think you were a chance.

COMMENTATOR: Look at her rip clear!

Here's sweet 16 for Winx.

-(GATES CLANG) -(CHEERING)

COMMENTATOR: She's racing royalty, this mare.

Here's 17 in a row. The grandstand's shaking.

ANDREW: Little did the Winx camp know

that the new threat would be the enemy within -

a rival on her own stable.

Her name was Foxplay.

This little grey mare and Winx were stablemates.

They went to the beach together,

they travelled together and they spelled together.

(BOLD JAZZ MUSIC)

Time has now softened the iron-grey filly

into a snowy-coloured broodmare,

but back in the day as she trained beside Winx,

she was picking up tips

and planning to bring her down.

KERRIN: Leading into that race that day,

I actually drew a barrier in very close proximity to Winx.

I think Winx might have been in 2 and I was in 3.

(BOLD JAZZ MUSIC CONTINUES)

COMMENTATOR: The light is on.

As the gates were about to open...

COMMENTATOR: And we're set.

Winx rares up in the gate.

COMMENTATOR: And the gates open. They're off!

The mare's missed the start by four lengths.

I went, "Oh, fuck!"

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: And a sensation.

Winx is last and Ecuador's going to lead comfortably.

What can I do? Just hold on and go with the flow.

COMMENTATOR: And Bowman's putting himself in a position

where he can start to creep a bit closer.

And Winx, she's still last.

HUGH: I'm not thinking about the streak.

We're in the race. Get focused.

COMMENTATOR: And Winx, she's still back last

as they go past the 500 metres.

Ecuador...

KERRIN: I got a run up the inside rail and...

COMMENTATOR: Then Harper's Choice, Red Excitement.

Winx gets to the outside.

Foxplay gave an almighty kick.

COMMENTATOR: Foxplay, the stablemate to Winx,

makes the run on the fence.

I was still in front and I couldn't see Winx.

"Jesus, I might win this race here now."

COMMENTATOR: Winx is four lengths away.

She's cutting loose now.

HUGH: I must admit, I got a little shock.

I thought, "We're in trouble."

COMMENTATOR: Winx is down the outside.

It's going to get desperate!

Winx is going to Foxplay!

Winx goes!

Yes! She got it!

Winx got up to beat Foxplay. There's 18 in a row.

But what about the drama today?

CHRIS: Hughie stayed on the horse. I don't know how.

He could have been knocked out,

come within an inch of losing his life.

Winx was very professional in all areas,

but she had a slight phobia in the barriers

and that was from day one to the end.

(BARRIER GATES CLANG)

COMMENTATOR: Winx flopped out the back.

HUGH: I remember at Randwick, her second trial,

she rared up and put her foot on the barrier

between the two stalls.

-(WINX NEIGHS) -MAN: No! No!

COMMENTATOR: One a little restless. That was Winx.

HUGH: If you're on a horse,

it is fractious in the barriers.

No! No! No!

HUGH: You know, there's a lot of metal around,

they're big and they're precocious

and if that leg goes over,

she'd panic and go over backwards.

Who knows?

Horse's hearing, very sensitive.

After that barrier mishap,

Chris decided maybe it's best we put the earmuffs on her.

(CROWD CHEERS)

CANDICE: It was always nerve-racking

when you get up there

and you're, like, "Oh, please be fine."

Like, that time with Foxplay when she missed the kick,

you're just, like, "Oh, my God, is she OK?

"Who cares if she wins. Just is she OK?"

COMMENTATOR: Been very calm and relaxed here today.

Racing with earmuffs for the first time.

HUGH: She was relaxed in the barriers.

COMMENTATOR: So, Red Excitement comes up.

JOSH: Red Excitement was so brave.

He had that typical style of racing on speed.

Often led the races that he raced in

and he was always there at the business end,

just knocking on the door.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

ANDREW: Winx and Red Excitement

share the same training track at Rosehill.

And Red Excitement's trainer, Gerald Ryan,

has always been a wily tactician.

BEN: With Gerald watching her in track work

and seeing her every day,

I think he knew that we didn't really have her screwed down

and she played up and missed the start

in the Warwick Stakes

and I think he thought, "I've got a fit horse.

"Now's my time. Now's my chance."

COMMENTATOR: Gates open now. They're racing.

She's jumped much better today, Winx.

Settled about midfield.

And Red Excitement's going to take up the early lead.

Chocante quickly into stride...

JOSH: Our tactics were quite bold.

COMMENTATOR: Red Excitement ensures a good gallop here.

HUGH: Red Excitement

took up the lead

and I just settled

at a pretty sedate tempo.

COMMENTATOR: And Winx about midfield, one off the fence.

Further back...

JOSH: We went at a speed

that had most of the horses

uncomfortable in that race.

He's a very strong horse

so he was quite willing to do so.

COMMENTATOR: Josh Parr ensuring

a very strong tempo here on Red Excitement.

HUGH: I could sense a big gap

being extended from Red Excitement

to the horses that I'm following.

COMMENTATOR: Around the turn, Red Excitement,

Life Less Ordinary and Sarrasin.

JOSH: I was still a helluva long way in front

and there was no sign of Winx.

COMMENTATOR: Parr sitting pretty quietly

six lengths clear.

JOSH: I thought, "I'm going to win.

"I'm about to pull this off."

COMMENTATOR: Now Winx is getting cracking.

She saw him. Instant. Her action just went quicker.

COMMENTATOR: Red Excitement five in front.

JOSH: Three strides later, I could just hear power.

I could hear Winx.

COMMENTATOR: Now Winx has only got

one more to pick off.

Red Excitement three in front. Winx is coming.

Red Excitement. But here she comes.

Right over the top, Winx!

Barnstorming finish again. 19 in a row.

(CHEERS)

(GENTLE MUSIC)

MAN: Another heart-stopper. Another heart-stopper.

When she beat Red Excitement, that's my favourite race.

Everyone wants to go on about, "Ooh, Foxplay on the line."

She made up 10 lengths, no whip 'cause Hughie lost it.

She's just gone, "Hold my beer.

"I've got this. Don't worry."

And she just takes him, just runs him down.

You can really see how much, like, she just loves her job.

JOSH: Winx went by me in a matter of strides

like she had just started the race

and I couldn't believe it.

I was in complete shock.

I almost felt the deflation of Red Excitement as well.

We went past the line

and the both of us had thought we had done so well

and we'd done so much to try and win,

and we hadn't.

PETER TIGHE: Great tactics by the leader.

I mean, they worked it out pretty well

and I thought they did a great job

and even greater for her to run it down.

The expectation on Hughie was...was massive.

He took it all in his stride.

Ice runs through his veins.

COMMENTATOR: And the champ makes it 20 in a row!

COMMENTATOR 2: Hughie Bowman was a long way off them

again today,

and he was niggling at her

more than usual.

HUGH: Winx having the earmuffs on,

she just wasn't racing with the same purpose

that I was accustomed to.

Something was upsetting her. Was she sick of racing?

Had we asked too much of her?

COMMENTATOR: The massive crowd gathering here at Flemington.

Beautiful conditions. The sun is out.

HUGH: Chris decided to take the earmuffs off.

CHRIS: The pressure wasn't putting her

in the right position,

bringing her out at the right time.

It was keeping her safe.

COMMENTATOR: And they're ready for the Turnbull.

Winx a little bit edgy.

DEBBIE: As you have the races build up,

as you have her

championness come out...

COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, there's a superstar

stepping out when the jockeys

climb the steward's tower to watch on.

DEBBIE: You needed a person that could cope with that

and mentally maintain that.

(GATES OPEN)

COMMENTATOR: Stalls are back and they're racing

at the 2,000 metres.

Bowman hasn't flinched. He's doing it easily.

21 today on the biggest dance floor

of them all.

Winx by eight lengths.

DEBBIE: There was just this partnership between them.

She knew him and he knew her.

Winx wouldn't have been Winx without Hugh Bowman.

HUGH: She didn't enjoy affection.

She didn't resent it, but she didn't enjoy it.

Someone wrote a letter to me once

why I didn't pat her after our race,

so I started to after that,

but I didn't need to pat her

for her to know that I love her.

You know, I didn't need to pat her

to show that I was happy with her.

She didn't need me to show her affection

to know how good she was.

I just felt so alive

that I was so closely associated

with this amazing athlete.

-She's doing the job. -Mm, she is.

HUGH: Personally, it's probably my favourite time

riding her here in the morning.

(WINX PANTS)

You can hear her breathing.

Very rhythmic. It's very unique.

And here we go.

Even when she was on her own,

she'd be chasing the winning post

and she knew where it was.

Now the afterburners...

..give you an idea.

If I was holding onto her,

she wouldn't be happy until I let her go.

It was never enough.

Whoa, bub.

(INTRIGUING MUSIC)

ANDREW: Winx is going for her third consecutive Cox Plate.

Only one horse has ever achieved this feat -

the great Kingston Town trained by Tommy Smith.

COMMENTATOR: And Kingston Town's gone on to win

by four lengths.

COMMENTATOR 2: Kingston Town wearing him down.

He'll win the million-dollar plat.

COMMENTATOR: Oh, Kingston Town ogling them!

What a run! Kingston Town wins at a length on Grosvenor.

ANDREW: 35 years later,

Winx attempts to equal the legend's record.

(CHEERING)

COMMENTATOR: Great scenes here at Mooney Valley.

A massive crowd.

(CAMERAS CLICK)

ANDREW: She was clearly in the peak of her power.

The fact is that when it's such a big deal,

when it's big-time sport,

so many hundreds of thousands

or millions of people are invested in it,

that it gets a life of its own.

It gets the sheer velocity of numbers,

a force in itself.

(CROWD SINGS) ♪ ..be, little darlin'

♪ We'll be riding on the horses, yeah, yeah

♪ Way up in the sky, little darlin'

♪ And if you fall, I'll pick you up

♪ I'll pick you up. ♪

(CHEERING)

(CHEERING FADES)

(PENSIVE MUSIC)

HUGH: I don't want to be derogatory to the opposition,

but there was no headline horse in the race.

ANDREW: But in the field, there is one likely danger -

a horse called Humidor.

I thought, approaching this race against Winx,

he was a live chance to test the great mare.

We had to come up with a plan to try and beat Winx

and that was patient, save ground, attack her late.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is a little bit edgy.

(BARRIER GATES CLANG)

COMMENTATOR: They're racing and Winx got away cleanly.

Gailo Chop towards the inside of her was away the best.

BLAKE: We just

went back early,

find the rail

and just let the race unfold.

COMMENTATOR: Now Winx is four and five deep.

Just staying out of trouble at the moment.

BLAKE: We knew Hugh was going to stay one off the fence,

come wide and ride Winx how he did.

COMMENTATOR: A couple of lengths to Winx

followed by Humidor.

They head towards the top corner.

BLAKE: And then from about the thousand,

then the race started to change shape.

COMMENTATOR: 1,000 metres to go in the Cox Plate

and it's Gailo Chop in front by a length.

BLAKE: I'm back on the rail and I've had one eye on Hugh.

COMMENTATOR: Then came Winx. Next, Humidor.

BLAKE: And I was tracking up

to try and find that clear path

to get to his outside

to attack approaching the turn.

COMMENTATOR: Then came Hardham.

Winx peels to the outside now.

Gailo Chop in front, but here comes Winx.

We've waited 35 years for this.

BLAKE: Hugh made his move out wide.

COMMENTATOR: The Valley's rocking

and the world is knocking.

BLAKE: Little gaps started to appear.

Opportunities came for me to just keep creeping ground

and I got to a point around the turn

where I'd spent really no energy

and I was ready to attack her.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

There's a race on here.

(CHEERING)

HUGH: I came round the corner thinking, "I'm home,"

but I could almost hear a gasp from the crowd.

This was at the point where I felt

I was going... I was going to get her.

(CHEERING)

COMMENTATOR: Humidor to the outside.

It's Winx in front by a length.

Humidor on the outside is trying hard.

HUGH: There was a fleeting moment which forced me

to have a peek over my shoulder.

COMMENTATOR: It's Winx in front.

Humidor's coming at her.

HUGH: I was surprised to see Humidor so close.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CHEERING)

COMMENTATOR: Winx is holding on.

The great mare completes

the great trilogy of the turf.

Winx has won the Cox Plate

by a half length.

(DRAMATIC MUSIC)

(CHEERS)

COMMENTATOR: Winx has done it. She's created history.

But she gave us a massive fright.

Humidor has run the race of his life.

-Winx just held us at bay. -Yep.

-As she always did. -As she always did, yes.

COMMENTATOR: Listen to that crowd

as she comes back to scale

with Hugh Bowman in the saddle.

HUGH: I probably rode her more aggressively that day

than in any other race

and she subsequently broke her own track record,

so I would suggest that maybe that is

her superior Cox Plate performance.

MAN: Great job, Chris!

MAN 2: Well done, Chris!

(WOMEN CHEER)

Thanks, boys. Ta.

-Well done, matey. -Thanks, boys.

COMMENTATOR: Champion trainer Chris Waller's with me now.

Chris, you said you wanted to win

a third Cox Plate with her, you've done that.

Could we see her on the global scene next year?

CHRIS: I'm not sure. Let's get through today and...

She'll only go if she's still at her very best.

ANDREW: One of the many pressures on Chris Waller

was that there was this continual undercurrent

from critics, from racing writers, from racing fans,

from other owners,

and particularly from overseas people,

saying, "Oh, yeah, if she's so good,

"why don't you take her overseas?"

"Why didn't she go to Dubai?

"Why wouldn't she go to New Zealand?

"Why wouldn't she go to Hong Kong, Japan, America?

"When's she coming to take on the best in Europe?"

PETER TIGHE: We'd been well courted to go to Ascot,

you know, to what they were gonna do for us

and how good it would be

and the world stage and all that sort of stuff.

And the media were just, well, insatiable, wanting an answer.

Where are we going? Where are we not going?

Yes, we wanted to win on the other side of the world,

but it needed to fit in

to protect this winning sequence,

to protect her name and keep it going.

And it all got down to, "What's best for Winx?"

She's never travelled on a plane,

so you just don't know how... how they're going to cope.

It's 36 hours by the time they get there

and they have to take them off

and they have to stand the whole flight.

It's a gruelling operation.

We were wondering when the end was,

so we just thought you can't be everywhere.

You can't be at every dance.

You've got to respect she's an animal.

If they want her to win in Australia,

something's gotta give.

She can go to Royal Ascot and beat them,

but can she come back and beat them back here?

Well, what do you want?

You want everything? It won't happen.

His discipline to manage her the way he did

is why she continued to race at the level she did

for as long as she did.

He never asked her to go beyond her means.

I never wanted her to go.

I felt it was too risky for her

and there was nothing to prove.

After weeks of deliberation, she's staying home.

Winx's connections have decided the champion mare

will not go overseas to race this year

and trainer Chris Waller has sent out a challenge

for others to come and face her here.

CHRIS: Second half of her career, you're thinking,

was she going to lose that determination,

that will to win, that killer finish?

Surely something had to give.

Is today her last race?

Will she be retired after she gets beaten?

COMMENTATOR: She's going for 23 wins in a row.

She's going for her 16th Group One win.

CHRIS: We were petrified going to the races.

What happens if she misses the start?

What happens if she falls?

What happens if she hurts herself?

What happens if she doesn't win?

What am I gonna say to the media?

What am I gonna say to the owners?

INTERVIEWER: There just seems to be a calmness in the camp.

She's giving you that feeling.

Yeah, you could have spent the last half hour with me

and seen how I was going.

I'm starting to get anxious, nervous.

ANNOUNCER: Looking to break more records today...

CHRIS: I wouldn't even watch her going into the barriers

'cause I'd know she was a time bomb.

I didn't even want to see her throw her head

or do something.

I just wanted to hear the commentators say,

"They're racing."

COMMENTATOR: They're racing.

Winx was the last out of the gates.

About three off the lead.

CHRIS: If you watch the race with other trainers,

they'll say, "Oh, Winx is going no good."

COMMENTATOR: Winx is still back second last

at the 600 metres.

"Well, she can't win from there."

(LAUGHS) I don't want to hear any of it.

COMMENTATOR: Hugh Bowman just sitting there

like a department store mannequin.

Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink. Away she goes, the champ.

INTERVIEWER: Very easy to watch today.

-(CHRIS LAUGHS) Was it? -Don't you think?

The last part was, yeah, for sure.

ANDREW: The public is expecting this horse

to keep winning

and the whole expectation of a nation was focused on him.

CHRIS: It was all about this horse.

Sacrifices that you make -

not going on a family holiday

because Winx is racing next week,

not going home for Christmas

because you've just come back into work,

not being there for Steph when the kids are starting school.

I went to Tyler's first day at school

and I can remember it clearly.

I had to miss a trial, but that was a big deal.

I couldn't put my thoughts into

Tyler's first day at school.

I was worried about this horse.

Um...

That's how it took over your life.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

HUGH: It just built up.

It was like a snowball -

the attention, the expectation.

Everything about the whole experience

was out of control.

You know, and people ask me every day,

"How do you cope with the pressure?"

I've said, "What pressure? Just do it."

I was very mindful to be present for her.

As the journey went on, that became even more important.

COMMENTATOR: And Performer's got a lot of work to do.

Legend of Condor, Ef Troop, Tchaikovsky, Aylmerton.

Oh, Bowman's off the favourite, Performer.

HUGH: It was probably one of the nastier falls I've had.

(INTENSE MUSIC)

Quite a lonely place, looking down at the height of a horse

with nothing underneath you.

We hit the ground hard,

hit my head hard,

and was unconscious for some time

and spent the night in hospital.

It has shot my nerves a bit.

I think that's maybe why I,

you know, cringe a bit now

and hold my breath,

like, if, you know, I see him

in a race and I might think

things are getting a bit tight or whatever.

COMMENTATOR: Winx with Hughie Bowman up,

he's back on board today.

HUGH: I think the effects of that fall

were with me for some period of time afterwards.

Certainly made me more aware

because of the longevity it took

to just feel, you know, 110% again.

COMMENTATOR: Winx is edging clear

for a world record of 17 group ones,

and Winx wins it by three-quarters.

On the throne for 25 consecutive wins,

to equal the record of the great Black Caviar.

COMMENTATOR: It might be happy birthday, Black Caviar,

but Winx has gone past you.

COMMENTATOR: Long live the queen!

Winx by four lengths to Le Romain.

ANDREW: By winning another race in an unbeaten sequence,

you take another step on the tightrope.

COMMENTATOR: There's a gap for Winx.

She's gonna have to explode.

Trap For Fools at the 200.

Kings Will Dream back to the inside,

Winx down the middle.

Kings Will Dream at the hundred.

It's getting desperate.

Now Winx is storming home!

Winx over the top!

Oh, she's too good!

They can't beat her.

Just had to be a gap that was there.

Cool as a cucumber,

Hugh Bowman has switched off the heels of Youngstar.

ANDREW: You are getting closer to the day

when you're going to fall off the rope

and tumble down.

HUGH: You know, if Winx was beaten,

I would never have forgiven myself

if it was because of a mistake that I made.

I let my emotions to the side,

Christine to the side, the kids to the side,

Chris to the side.

It was about managing the fairytale.

(PENSIVE MUSIC)

CHRIS: The fourth Cox Plate, we prepared ourselves

as if it could be the last race.

She shows any signs of not coming up,

not being happy,

everyone was on the same page that we could call it a day.

Personally,

I was building up towards it could be her last run.

Yes, she was getting a bit older,

yes, there were the unknowns, but the preparation went well.

No setbacks.

Perfect work.

No temperatures, no sore feet, no sniffs, no coughs.

Eating well.

Looks great. Starting to dapple up.

She used to get these beautiful dapples in her coat.

About a week after the Cox Plate,

this time - she actually had it before -

she just looked a million dollars.

She needed to win it

because I wanted her to be remembered

for the right reason,

not ever for being beaten after all that time.

I was accepting of it happening,

but if I could try and help hold it together,

I'd do everything I could,

because she only deserved that.

I get very emotional with a lot of things,

but, in particular, horses, and memories.

(WISTFUL MUSIC)

We lost a horse called Rangirangdo.

Um... Oh, here we go.

Um, years ago, and, um...

..he was there, and it broke his heart.

He lost his life in a race, so...

It was the toughest day of my life.

Yeah, just walking down, giving him the pat...

..knowing he was taking his last breath,

it was tough.

And I've never forgotten it.

And I got... got the same thoughts...

..when Winx was getting towards the end.

If something happened to her...

..it would have been the end of me.

I was starting to feel physically sick

before she raced.

There was a few conversations, like, "Can we stop?"

Like, "How long's it gonna keep going?"

But I... He knows what he's doing, so...

..trusted him.

But, yeah, there was a lot of times I'd had enough,

like, "Stop! I just want her to be safe."

I was worried, if anything happened to her,

what it would do to Chris.

(PENSIVE MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: There is just not one place

you can find a spot now.

Everyone is crammed in

for a magic couple of moments.

38,000 people are here at Moonee Valley,

millions of people are tuning in around the world.

(SOLEMN MUSIC)

(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC)

(MUSIC BECOMES HOPEFUL)

COMMENTATOR: It's history at the Valley.

Winx with her fourth Cox Plate.

$3 million in prize money

takes her to the all-time record

for world prize money earned by a racehorse.

Winx stands tallest.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

CHRIS: I was wrecked, mentally.

Just put so much into the preparation.

Asked myself, "Come on, when's enough enough?

"What more does this horse need to do?"

Where was the boundary, where was the red line,

and when did she break?

A decision needs to be made.

I don't know if I can do it anymore.

And pretty sure I said to Steph,

I said, "I think that's it."

We called a meeting to discuss the next step.

Chris did a full evaluation of Winx.

X-rayed her body, had the vets check her over,

do everything, make sure everything's alright.

We were never going to race her

if she ever gave them the impression

that she'd had enough.

I said, "What I can tell you is the horse is fine.

"If you want to win another Queen Elizabeth, we can.

"But let's do it responsibly. Let's do it as one."

The decision was made

that we would send her out for a spell,

and we'd bring her back

and we would, hopefully,

give her four races,

concluding with the Queen Elizabeth in 2019.

"If that's what you want, it's done.

"We'll make the Queen Elizabeth the last."

(SPIRITED MUSIC, RAIN PATTERS)

"Can it end in a fairytale dream?

"Doubt it. Probably not.

"But it's Winx.

"Anything's possible."

So we took that approach.

She's won 29 races in a row,

unbeaten now for three years,

and tonight Winx holds a new title

that many here already knew.

She's now officially

the world's best racehorse.

Ladies and gentlemen,

let's give a huge round of applause to Winx.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

REPORTER: The wonder mare

who's caught the world's attention.

This isn't a bad way

to begin what may be Winx's final victory lap in 2019.

ANDREW: Waller plots the coming campaign

with the focus of a safe-cracker.

CHRIS: The four-race sequence,

the first, the second,

the semifinal,

you just want everything to go right.

From the running around the track

every morning before she worked

to the making sure that the traffic

wasn't gonna be too bad driving to the races.

All the one-percenters had to be there

so we wouldn't bugger up the story.

(ANIMATED MUSIC)

It's very stressful

when you shoe the best horse in the world.

ANDREW: There's an old saying in racing -

"No foot, no horse."

Yeah, just making sure the expectation

of not just the trainer, but myself

and the whole of Australia and now the world,

the expectations of her winning

and getting through each run.

She definitely had her diva moments.

So, I was in the wash bay, she was tied up like this,

I went to turn it off,

and as I turned it off, she got a fright.

She broke the chain, she smacked me into the wall

and then escaped.

I caught her out by the walker,

not a scratch on her.

I thought I was gonna have to move to Germany.

I thought I needed to have no extradition,

Chris was gonna murder me.

Imagine if I maimed the best horse in the world.

(CHUCKLES)

CHRIS: It got to the stage where,

originally, we had a security company,

we thought, "No, we've got to do it ourselves."

So we just started rotating the clock,

watching the security cameras,

making sure that no-one could get to her,

make sure that there was no rat or something

coming into the stable in the middle of the night

that could be upsetting her, and...

..Umut was there.

It's such an important part of keeping things consistent.

The highs and lows can upset a horse.

Umut was just the same person every day.

We could see him starting to feel the tension,

start to feel the pressure.

There's no room for error.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

COMMENTATOR: Here she comes now, Winx.

She just sidles up on the outside,

takes the lead and draws away again.

Age shall not weary the champ.

She can just take off...

..when she's, like, at the home straight.

COMMENTATOR: She starts to draw clear.

Winx, 31 in a row.

She's a one-of-a-kind horse,

and, well, who wouldn't love her?

COMMENTATOR: The world champion, Winx,

simply invincible!

CHRIS: Everybody else was saying

how great it's gonna be that she wins the last race.

Like, it doesn't work like that.

(PENSIVE MUSIC)

I was on edge.

And my staff were all becoming aware of Winx week,

as they called it.

Don't even go near her, just let her be a horse

and let Umut do his job, Candice do her job,

and we'll stay out of their way, me included.

I'd have a passing glimpse

as I walked past her stable a few times a day.

Two more gallops.

One more media call.

(CAMERAS CLICK)

CHRIS: I just didn't feel

people got to see the beauty of Winx

for what she was.

She was an amazing specimen.

She had this beautiful head.

She posed for the cameras

and she had these rotten earmuffs on

every time she turned up at a media call.

The media call's 99% done,

and Chris decides to take her earmuffs off.

(CAMERAS CLICK)

The clicking of the cameras, she could sense it.

She was letting rip at the straps behind her.

We had to get it off pretty quick.

(CAMERAS CLICK)

REPORTER: The strappers quickly calming her down

and whisking her away to the stables.

Thankfully, she was unharmed.

The advertising boards, not so lucky.

CHRIS: It was pretty appropriate

that it was the Longines sign

running in the Longines Queen Elizabeth,

and Chris just made a mockery of the day.

So the fairytale's only a few days away,

and...we're not looking into it too much,

but... (CLEARS THROAT) ..she's certainly ready to go.

REPORTER: What will you guys miss most

about this great horse?

All the media attention.

(LAUGHTER)

WOMAN: I bet.

(TENSE MUSIC)

(CHEERING IN DISTANCE)

(SOLEMN MUSIC)

CHRIS: You get there

and all you can see is these Winx flags,

and...just everything is blue...

..from the flags to the flowers.

The crowd, they've all got blue on.

DEBBIE: You looked around and you thought,

"Oh, this is just gonna be so bad if it doesn't come off."

And that's how you felt.

You just felt that you wanted it to be the fairytale.

PATTY: Would she win?

And how do you prepare yourself for a loss...

Yeah, it was...

..after what we'd been through?

(EXPECTANT MUSIC)

CHRIS: People were there to see

a dream sporting event unfold,

and it still hadn't happened. (CHUCKLES)

It's like watching your child have its first game of rugby

or walking your daughter down the aisle.

CANDICE: It didn't really get to me

until we really walked into the Theatre of the Horse

and I see all of the people.

It was just that so many people loved her.

(SOLEMN VOCAL MUSIC)

COMMENTATOR: On this racetrack today, it's absolute peace.

From every country around the world,

all nationalities, religions, you name it,

they come to watch racing, they came to watch Winx.

HUGH: I had all these sporting dreams as a kid.

I dreamed of opening the batting for Australia.

I dreamed of playing rugby for Australia.

I just dreamed of a pressure moment in my life

where I've got to get the goal.

COMMENTATOR: 42,000-plus here at Royal Randwick.

She's really become the people's horse.

This is the final chapter.

Here we go.

And Winx completes the line-up.

The red light is on.

And the crowd are ready to send her off.

And the gates open!

They're off in the Queen Elizabeth.

(CHEERING)

Massive roar to the crowd.

She's going to settle in last, Winx.

And Hartnell is first out, Mask of Time's mustering.

So is Harlem. Happy Clapper handy.

He's Eminent's back last.

Kluger runs handy fifth and Winx is moving forward.

Bowman wants a better spot. McDonald...

HUGH: I was unusually anxious in the run.

I could feel the electricity,

you know, I just couldn't relax.

COMMENTATOR: No surprises yet.

They've got 900 to run.

Mask of Time a length clear from Harlem,

then Hartnell, Happy Clapper.

Now he starts the run on Winx. He's starting to move forward.

Just showed him, Kluger.

HUGH: I set sail a bit sooner than I usually would,

probably a result of that nervous energy.

COMMENTATOR: And Winx is rounding them up,

coming right around the field.

Kluger takes an inside run.

She's gone for home already, Winx.

(EXCITING MUSIC)

(SWEEPING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC)

Today we farewell an Australian icon,

the greatest of all time.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

PETER: She'd fulfilled all of our dreams

and the dreams of so many other people.

DEBBIE: She did everything she had ever promised us.

(HEARTWARMING MUSIC)

(HAUNTING VOCALS)

HUGH: To see the full house at Royal Randwick...

..applauding a champion.

CHRIS: I walked out there, and for the first time ever...

(VOICE CRACKING) I walked out onto the track

to sort of greet her and lead her back in.

You've done it.

It's probably the proudest moment.

(MAJESTIC MUSIC)

HUGH: And it was just the three of us.

Chris, myself and the amazing Winx.

(FLASHBULB POPS)

(TENDER PIANO MUSIC)

ANDREW: No-one knows when a winning streak begins,

only when it ends.

Before Winx leaves Wallerland for the last time,

she stars in a group photo

with the huge team of stable staff

who played their part in her story.

Her constant attendant and loyal bodyguard, Umut,

escorts Winx one more time.

(ANIMATED PIANO MUSIC)

TOM MAGNIER: I was so proud and so honoured

to have the responsibility

of getting Winx back to her birthplace.

I tell you, I had a bounce in my step

the day that they told me she was coming.

I remember she got off the truck

and she came down to the box, like,

"OK, what racetrack is this? Where am I running today?"

Good afternoon. Just update with Winx.

She's eight today.

She's absolutely chilled out

and loving life here

with a routine going in and out.

I've just brought her in now ready to put her to bed.

But she's absolutely thriving

and I couldn't be any more happy with her.

TOM: So then it was time for her to become a mother,

and obviously there was great excitement.

ANDREW: Worldwide speculation ends with the announcement

that the champion Australian stallion I Am Invincible

is the lucky fella.

The big horse they call 'Vinnie'

will get to father Winx's first foal.

PADRAIG KELLY: And this is your foetus here.

And if you look close, you'll see

just a little flicker of a heart beat

in the middle just there.

Just there. See it beating away there, yeah.

So I'm very pleased with that, and fingers crossed

all goes well.

So she's in good shape at this stage.

I'm very pleased. Thank you.

PADDY: Good morning. Just update on the champ.

She's just come out for her breakfast this morning.

She's absolutely loving life.

She's got a few foals around her,

so she's getting used to them.

We've gone in the right direction.

She's three weeks off today, off her due date,

and we couldn't be any more happier with her.

I thought I'd come down to the foaling unit

and show you what it looks like at night time.

As you can see, these are the foaling yards

where she'll foal into.

And so it's all lit up.

ANDREW: The Disney story for Winx would be

she goes and lives happily ever after,

and she has her first foal to a handsome prince,

and it's a beautiful foal,

and it grows up to be a champion.

But the reality is otherwise.

One evening, or early one morning,

we got the news that she'd... she'd had a foal,

but it was...

..stillborn.

(PATTY SOBS)

DEBBIE: You want to know why,

but you know you're never gonna know why,

because I think these things happen.

You want to blame someone.

There's no-one to blame. You...

Because you know everybody that's with her,

they're feeling the same loss that you're feeling.

(WISTFUL MUSIC)

That poor little foal.

We've buried her on the farm.

She was very respected. Beautiful from all accounts.

But from what they said, Winx tried to be a mother

even with a passed-away baby,

as you do as a...as a woman.

For a mare to have been through

what she'd been through,

to answer every question asked of her,

and do it perfectly...

..for her to lose that foal,

it was just soul-destroying.

She got sick afterwards.

She got colic.

And things just went from bad to worse.

DR NIAMH COLLINS: So, I got the call on a Saturday evening

to say that Winx was uncomfortable

and showing signs of colic out at the farm at Coolmore.

And so got in the car, packed up the scanner

and headed out to see her.

And we thought that the best thing would be

is that she get transferred into the hospital immediately.

(INDISTINCT CHATTER)

DR JESSICA PARTLOW: We don't always know

why horses exhibit colic.

Sometimes it can be a major change in her life.

I've witnessed mares,

the disappointment in the morning.

When mares lose their foals here in the hospital,

we give them time to grieve.

And to realise that they've lost their foal.

It is something substantial for a horse, I think.

DR TROY BUTT: We did have some concerns

about her large colon at the time.

The large colon is quite long,

and it can freely move around the abdomen,

and because of that,

it can twist and kink and things like that.

The best course of action was to perform abdominal surgery.

JESSICA: My educated brain said, "Right.

"This was a straightforward colic surgery.

"We've got a good chance."

My superstitious mind wouldn't relax. (CHUCKLES)

You know, this is Winx on the table.

This meant that she had to go through another surgery.

This time a bowel resection was required.

And the energy that her body

was going to need to heal from that,

we knew that she was depleting her stores.

TROY: Surgery was the only option for her.

If we didn't do the surgery, she was not going to survive.

Whenever we have to go in a second time,

the prognosis drops dramatically.

TOM: That's usually the...the end.

It is the end.

I remember ringing and saying to Debbie,

to Peter, to Elizabeth, I said...

"I'm really sorry,

"you're gonna have to come to the farm,

"because the mare's not gonna make it."

And it was extremely emotional for all of them.

They knew that they were coming down

to say goodbye to Winx,

that Winx probably had another four to five hours left.

TROY: Most major complications happen

in the first three days after surgery,

and I was pretty convinced that we were...

..it wasn't gonna go well.

VOICEMAIL: My name is Niamh Collins,

the medicine specialist as Scone Equine Hospital,

looking after your mare, Winx.

Just to let you know that she's trying her hardest

after a second surgery.

She does have a long recovery road ahead,

and...but we are doing everything we can

to support and help her,

and she's being very patient with us.

But the one thing about Winx is she had the will to win,

but she also had the will to live.

And it was incredible to see the fight that she put up.

Um...

Every time you thought she wouldn't do something,

she did it.

She beat the odds every time.

DR LUCY CUDMORE: She had an aura about her,

but she also was extremely professional,

even as a sick horse, she just sort of...

She tolerated a lot and went about her business

and was incredibly brave and strong.

TOM: I cannot give credit enough

to the team in Scone Equine,

the level of professionalism that they showed

around the clock.

There was people in that hospital

that worked day on, day off, no sleep,

just to get this mare through it.

(CAMERA CLICKS)

PADDY: Good morning, just update with Winx.

She's out in the paddock for the first time in five months,

and, as you can see, she's loving being out.

(AIRY MUSIC)

-MAN: Yay! -WOMAN: Ooh!

Ooh, lean up against her mum!

Oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh.

(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC)

TOM: The dark clouds are gone.

The blue sky's coming back.

(UPLIFTING MUSIC)

Starting to get pretty independent now.

Yeah.

CHRIS: Hey.

How are you?

Good to see you.

It's pretty special to see Mum after what she's been through,

to have this first child, or first foal.

She's done a pretty good job.

Hello. How are you?

Very cuddly, isn't she?

(LAUGHS)

CHRIS: Almost an identical product of Mum.

ANDREW: It's fitting

that Chris Waller has the last word.

During filming, he was asked,

if he could make Winx understand him,

what would he say to her?

CHRIS: Thanks for what you've been through.

Thanks for what you've given to everybody.

Thanks for being part of history

that'll never be forgotten.

(GENTLE PIANO MUSIC)