ANOTHER Group 1, another professional and classy take down of whatever is left to be put up against her. The George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill proved to be Winx’s 32nd win in a row, 24 of them at Group 1 level, which is a world record.

In terms of achievement, this was not as stellar as some of her others, but it looks solidly in the low-to-mid 120s on form and time, and she strung out her very useful (but no better) rivals on heavy ground with little fuss. She is a phenomenon, and you must have a bizarrely low view of the standard of racing outside your own borders to think otherwise.

Even if she does not make it to Royal Ascot, as seems very likely to be the case, it is to be hoped that some of her fellow Australians do. Their sprinters are particularly good, and Nature Strip and Pierata probably ran to something like 123 and 125 in coming home first and second in the Group 1 Galaxy Handicap over 1100 metres later on the Rosehill card.

RETIREMENT

The Autumn Sun probably dipped a bit below his 126 peak when winning the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas by a head, and there is now talk of his retirement.

De Bon Coeur has been the best jumper in France for some time now and won nicely off a break at Auteuil on Sunday. She is worth a figure of about 165 at her best, and gets a sex allowance into the bargain as well.

These are early days in the French flat campaign, but Godolphin’s Epic Hero impressed greatly when winning a minor contest on fibresand at Chantilly recently. Time comparisons have him running something like a 99 timefigure, but his late splits were smart and he can be credited with a 108 figure once those are allowed for. That is classic trial standard, but not classic-winning standard as yet.