I WOKE bleary-eyed at 5.15 a.m. last Saturday under a duvet on the sofa, and a couple of minutes of intense activity later rolled back over with a satisfied look on my face.

She had done it again: the “she” being Australian mare Winx, who had made it 21 wins in a row in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington, shown on ATR to Irish and British racing fans and insomniacs alike.

On the stopwatch, this was probably not Winx’s finest hour as the early pace meant that the time of 2m 2.07s was not especially good. But in terms of thrashing last year’s St Leger runner-up Ventura Storm and the recent Group 1 winner Humidor, it reads very well given how much Winx looked to have in hand.

This should really have quietened those who were maintaining that Winx was “nothing special”, though the debate over whether she is better than Enable (Timeform has them equal) or Black Caviar (Timeform has Winx 2 behind) is likely to run for a lot longer.

Winx is long odds-on to win a third successive Cox Plate on October 28th, something achieved previously only by the legendary Kingston Town. Duvet and alarm call at the ready.

USA

Unique Bella is keeping more sociable hours over in the US and has now won five out of five, her L. A. Woman Stakes win at Santa Anita on Sunday worth about 117 by my reckoning.

That is one higher than the admirable Suedois achieved in landing the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland the previous day.