@Hellbent OK - I was a bit doubtful but it seemed right, is there a breeding connection between the two. Is Winx a stayer as opposed to a sprinter?

@Hellbent Thanks for all that - I don't follow the races but love to watch magnificent athletes like these two in question..

@Hellbent I think I did see that one - do you think she has an ability to go into another gear on the home run? or is it simply superb riding plus speedster horse? What do you think makes sp special? I mean Black Caviar seemed to go up a gear on the home run.

@Hellbent So, Winx is not a sprinter? is she a stayer? do you think she may race in the Melbourne Cup? Apparently, there are no plans for her to race in England - did I hear a murmur about the USA? Do you know when she races next? sorry. but you've become my go to bloke for Winx fan club! Where do you lie? I could look it up but it's 1.00am - off with my bedtime cuppa.

@Hellbent I remember Kingston Town - just by the by - an ancestor of mine was a winning Jockey of an early Melbourne Cup. He was Irish. Thanks for info re Winx - I'll keep an eye out for Cox Plate.

Whip is generally Shown to the horse! Also, horsehide...one of the strongest leathers known.

@AnneWimsey So also not only physical abuse but also the sense of fear, mental abuse as a tool, wonder how they learned to fear the whip.... just wondering. Great!

@GipsyOfNewSpain Some of these horses are worth upwards of 6-7 million dollars, plus stud/breeding fees in the 6 figures. But you think they are Black Beauty? Have tou even seen the "whip" you are talking about? Looks a lot like a bath brush for your feet.

@AnneWimsey and the spurs are made of chewing gum. Did you ever owned a slave? Was that slave worth 6-7 millions? Do you consider yourself worth 6, 7 millions?

@GipsyOfNewSpain they do not use spurs in Track racing!! Try learning something about the sport, whydoncha.

@AnneWimsey not now but spurs were used in the past and I will never call Torture a sport.

@GipsyOfNewSpain no spurs in track racing, ever...they would be a real hazard to both horse & rider in the close situations there! I have no problem talking over any subject, but some of these animal-rights groups call anything torture & react in very foolish ways that truly hurt the animals. 2 examples: freeing all the minks on a mink farm without knowing that minks all hate each other....and keeping on freeing them even as they began to kill each other instead of running away . Only about 5 of the over 900 survived...truly horrifying ignorance!
Second, stopping a deer herd cull, for years, right in my town, where the deer were occupying an area 30+ strong, the peninsula could support perhaps 6. Stripped clean of all vegetation, deer dying of starvation, stillborn fawns, and all other life in the area starved out too...oh, except the ticks. "But it would be cruel" to harvest them for the soup kitchens.
A little knowledge is a Dangerous thing!