Fangirl overcomes the odds to make G1 return in Winx Stakes

Five months after suffering a life-threatening injury, Fangirl returns to spearhead Chris Waller’s squad for the first Group One race of the season at Randwick, and according to the champion trainer she is more robust than ever.

The star mare looked set for an electric autumn when she resumed with a dominant win in the Apollo Stakes (1400m) followed by a slashing second to Think It Over in the Verry Elleegant Stakes (1600m).

But that changed overnight when she suffered a deep leg wound in a stable accident, putting not only her career on the line, but her life.

“The day she had her injury, I probably didn’t expect her to be racing again, let alone survive,” Waller said.

“She survived, she’s racing again and not just racing again but in a pretty short timeframe without bending anything.

“We have just followed the guidelines and the vets have done a fantastic job.”

Not only is the six-year-old back to full health, she has been able to enjoy a more extended spell.

Waller can already see the impact of that in her physical makeup, revealing the triple Group 1 winner has always been on the light side in condition but this time around has come back hardier.

“I have never been able to train her properly,” Waller said.

“She has always been, not fragile, but she has never had as much weight on her as I would have liked.

“She’s got that weight on her now, so I can do a bit more with her. (In the past), deeper into her preps, she has just trained off a little bit, and I’m hoping that will carry her right through the spring.”

Fangirl is bidding to become the first horse to capture successive Winx Stakes (1400m) titles since the race’s namesake, who won what was then known as the Warwick Stakes three years in a row between 2016-18.

Waller will saddle up half of Saturday’s feature race field with fellow mares Atishu, Via Sistina and Zougotcha all resuming, while their male barn mates Buckaroo and Riff Rocket will also use it as a carnival springboard.

Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have multiple runners, paying up for Tropical Squall, a recent addition to the Yulong Investments team, and stayer Just Fine, while Ciaron Maher will be dually represented with Semana and Detonator Jack.