The great Winx, the equine subject of 'A Horse Named Winx' (2024). Image by Turfstars - Lisa Grimm.
Lebanese beauty queens, Cambodian orphans, drug smugglers and junior ballroom dancers. Her themes are many and varied. For over 20 years Janine Hosking has been producing and directing documentaries, but never one about a horse – until now.
Winx and Hugh Bowman after their Cox Plate victory in 2017. Image by Turfstars Lisa – Grimm.
‘A HORSE NAMED WINX’ – 2024
Producer/director: Janine Hosking
Writer: Andrew Rule
ABOUT WINX:
By Street Cry (IRE) out of Vegas Showgirl (NZ).
Foaled on 14 September 2011 at Coolmore Stud, Jerry’s Plains, NSW.
Bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds then sold as a yearling for $230,000.
Trained by Chris Waller.
“In fact it’s the first film I’ve made about any animal,” says Hosking, who had ponies when she was a child. “We had so much fun making this Winx film I wish I’d worked with animals sooner. I tried to make it like a Phar Lap or Seabiscuit story.”
(These two racehorse pictures were featured in the February and December 2021 issues of Equestrian Life).
“I just had a gut
feeling there was
more to it than 33
wins in a row.”
“I wanted to show what the sacrifices and pressures were,” continues Hosking. “I didn’t know where the story would take us, I just had a gut feeling there was more to it than 33 wins in a row.”
She viewed miles of news footage, assembled new material, read many books. One of the first was Andrew Rule’s Winx: The Authorised Biography published in 2019. “He was so good at painting the character – I wanted him along to write and narrate.”
An award-winning journalist specialising in crime, Rule had grown up with horses in country Victoria, worked in stables and admits to having a lifelong weakness for racing. He claims to be the only Australian Journalist of the Year to have ridden the winner of a horse race.
“I’ve been involved in the odd production over the years,” he modestly told Equestrian Life, “I was just a useful helper in pointing Janine in the right direction and creating some words. I can’t say I like the sound of my voice in the narration – it’s not very polished, but she appeared to be happy with it.
“She did a beautiful job bridging the bubble of racing with her world of documentary making and the general public. She’s really from the school of arty festival-type films. Six years ago she made one about the tragic Australian pianist, Geoffrey Tozer, who became an alcoholic. You wouldn’t think that would be a great preparation for making A Horse Named Winx, but Janine can see a story and she knows how to tell it.”
Narrator and writer Andrew Rule records his narration for the documentary. Image by Ross Coffey.
Unlike a big studio horsey film Winx only briefly uses “jockey cam” footage when recreating some sequences in the barriers, and a body double for the breaking-in scenes. Limitless Lodge, Tim Boland’s pre-training site which first handled the horse, is used by many high-profile trainers including, of course, Chris Waller. Situated on the NSW Central Coast, it’s named after one of Boland’s top three-day-eventers.
“Amir Attaollahi is a cheerful Indian horseman who first rode her in that breaker’s yard. His cameo appearance is a gem,” declares Rule, who added that the rider’s family came from Bengaluru where his grandfather had once trained gallopers for the Aga Khan.
Winx had six riders during her career with Hugh Bowman recognised as her “regular” jockey. She won races over distances 1100m, 1200m, 1300m, 1400m, 1500m, 1600m, 2000m, 2040m and 2200m. She earned $26,451,175 in winnings, topping the list of prizemoney earners in Australian thoroughbred racing history. She finished her career on 13 April 2019 at Randwick racecourse by winning the Queen Elizabeth Stakes for the third time.
The mare was owned by Peter and Patty Tighe, Debbie and Paul Kepitis and the late Richard Treweeke, who died aged 90 in 2021, the same day the Winx statue was unveiled at Rosehill Gardens racecourse.
“The film says a lot about the unsung heroes,” says Hosking, “and highlights thoughts and ideas which hadn’t been presented before.
“When the crew and I shot the trackwork, obviously Winx wasn’t there but we wanted to get a handle on how it all works. I really liked the atmosphere, the camaraderie and all the humour that’s going on at that time of the morning between the riders and grooms.
“Candice Persijn was a great find.” She had taken over the role of strapping for the superstar and appears on the film’s poster.
“The film says a lot about
the unsung heroes…”
Strapper Candice Persijn and Winx shared a special bond. Image by Fast Track Photography – Sharon Lee Chapman.
TRIVIA:
Umut Odemislioglu, who worked for Chris Waller, was the mare’s initial handler. In 2022 he returned to Turkey to pursue his dream as a racehorse trainer. In September this year Winx’s former strapper celebrated the biggest victory of his burgeoning career when he saddled up a Group 2 winner in Istanbul.
Because of the horse’s fame, Canadian-born Candice was thrust into the spotlight appearing on camera and in photos as much as the mare’s jockey and trainer. “I look back and go ‘wow’, how incredible my life was for those four years,” she had said in a 2020 interview. “Even though, on three-degree mornings, it was horrendous watching Winx on the walker while freezing my arse off!
Winx enjoying her retirement years at Coolmore Stud. Image by Jodie Walsh.
“But you look at all the people she touched and brought to racing. What she did for the sport and for me and just how much everyone loved her. It was amazing!”
TRIVIA:
The inspiration behind the mare’s name, whose dam was Vegas Showgirl, has always been somewhat edited. A racing writer told Equestrian Life he couldn’t reveal too much – it was “rather risqué from an anatomical point of view”. Apparently one of the owners had visited a Vegas nightclub observing that “the showgirls would flash some skin, and the blokes would give them a wink”. And that’s how the bay mare got her name.
To quote the documentary’s publicity: “It goes behind the sports headlines and spectacular victories to reveal the unforgettable spirit of a champion who, away from the track, faced her biggest battle and once again refused to be beaten.”
“I made it for a general audience and for all ages,” says Hosking. “I wanted the film to inspire, to work in the cinema space and have the sound, feeling, vibe and excitement that takes the audience on the highs and lows of the story.”
After premiering at the Sydney Film Festival in June it was screened in cinemas across the nation and is available on DVD.
Next time in Horses & Movies, Into the West (1992) starring Gabriel Byrne. EQ
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