ALL eyes will be on Winx as she goes for Cox Plate history but it could have been oh so different as jockey Blake Shinn reveals he thought he was going to beat her in last year’s race. FOLLOW THE DAY LIVE!
The injured jockey revealed this week that he thought for a split second he was going to beat the super mare on Humidor.
Shinn got within half a length of Winx last year, the narrowest of her three Cox Plate victories after 4.8 and eight-length romps.
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“Riding against her you never really think you’re going to beat her,” Shinn said.
“But getting off her back for a split second I honestly thought I was going to cause one of the biggest upsets in sport.
“Winx didn’t have the ideal run, Hugh (Bowman) just kept her out of trouble so she covered a lot of extra ground compared to me, which made the margin as close as it did.”
Shinn rode four winners on Cox Plate Day last year but the Sydney jockey will be watching from afar today, as he recovers from a broken neck.
“I suppose looking back it would have been great to win, personally, but as a sporting fan you never like to see champions get beat,” Shinn said.
“We nearly spoilt the party but thankfully for all the fans, and owners of Winx, we didn’t do it. I love Winx as much as the fans love her but as a jockey and as a competitor I’ve got a job to do for my connections, and we nearly did it.”
Shinn is confidant Winx will win her fourth Cox Plate.
The Melbourne Cup winner said the small field, including fancied international Benbatl, will be running for second again.
“Nothing has done it (beaten her) in the past 28 starts,” Shinn said. “I can’t see anything getting near her again. I feel that last win (Turnbull) was arguably her best, coming from an impossible position.”
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