Black Caviar had Hay List. Redoute’s Choice had Testa Rossa. Sunline had Northerly.
As we head into the swansong of Winx’s record breaking career on Saturday in the Queen Elizabeth, we look back on those horses that provided the biggest challenge to the great mare over her career and which horses dared to try and stop her winning streak along the way.
Happy Clapper
Happy Clapper has the record for running second to Winx the most times in her career with five.
The closest he ever got to the great mare was in the George Ryder Stakes in 2018, but he also gave her a scare in the Chipping Norton Stakes earlier this Autumn.
Hartnell
It can be argued that Hartnell is in career best form right now and it could also be argued that his career took off once he started avoiding Winx.
The Godolphin gelding ran second to Winx for the fourth and last time in the 2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
He has added a further two Group 1s to his tally of four in that time.
Closest he ever got? 2.8 lengths in the 2017 Apollo Stakes.
There was a fair amount of support for Hartnell though, heading into the 2018 Ladbrokes Cox Plate.
That support quickly evaporated heading around the tight bend at The Valley.
Humidor
Humidor was last seen on the race track in the 2018 Ladbrokes Cox Plate, where he ran third, but it was the 2017 edition in which he went within half a length of Winx that we remember most.
Although Hugh Bowman never seemed worried, the racing public had their hearts in their mouth when Humidor gave one last surge late in the race to try and spoil the party.
It was not to be however as the great mare equaled, and eventually broke, Kingston Town’s record of three successive Cox Plates.
Benbatl
It was more of a marketing campaign than anything else however there was plenty of hype around British import Benbatl heading into the 2018 Ladbrokes Cox Plate.
After narrowly defeating Blair House in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes leading into the weight-for-age classic, the English media, led by Matt Chapman, started to think they may be half a chance to knock her off.
They were wrong.
Foxplay
The closest anyone came to beating Winx in her streak? Foxplay almost halted the streak at 17 when she was run over very late in the 2017 Warwick Stakes.
Winx was four lengths off at the 200m mark and you would have been forgiven for thinking it was the end of the streak.
But as only Winx can, she stormed over the top to get there in the final couple of bounds and once again proved her brilliance and versatility.
Red Excitement
Don’t get us wrong when we say Red Excitement is not star thoroughbred.
He won 14 of his 62 career starts and over $1.2 million prize money during his racing career, but his greatest achievement came when he came awfully close to beating Winx in the 2017 Chelmsford Stakes.
The final margin was one whole length however Josh Parr had stolen a fair gap and was six in front of the pack heading round the turn.
The tough gelding found plenty in the straight and things got very desperate for Bowman and Winx at the 100m.
Hugh Bowman learnt plenty that day and he never let a leader get that far in front of the great mare again.
Gust Of Wind
The answer to what is sure to be a famous racing trivia question – Gust Of Wind was the last horse to have beaten Winx way back in April 2015.
Some argue that Winx simply did not run out a strong 2400m of the Australian Oaks or that the ride from Joao Moreira did her no favours.
She was good without being great as a filly and it took her a little bit longer to mature into a fantastic race mare later in her career.
Gust Of Wind ran well in a Caulfield and Melbourne Cup the following Spring but she never won another race during her racing career.
Winx avenged her loss to the filly in the Autumn of 2016 when she won the Group 2 Apollo Stakes and the Group 1 Chipping Norton Stakes.
Gust Of Wind finished 10th of 11 and 12th of 12 respectively.
First Seal
Remarkably, First Seal beat Winx home the first three times they met.
All were in their three year old season, in the 2014 Tea Rose Stakes and Flight Stakes, and then again in the Vinery Stud Stakes in the Autumn.
First Seal was seen again a year later in the Autumn of 2016 and eventually met Winx in the Group 1 George Ryder where she ran into a much different animal.
All in all, Winx avenged her previous losses by beating First Seal in the George Ryder (First Seal was 4th) and The Doncaster Handicap (First Seal was 12th).