CHRIS Waller has sounded an ominous warning to his local and international rivals — wonder mare Winx still has some improvement left in her quest for a fourth-successive Cox Plate victory at The Valley on October 27.

Winx returned to the track at Flemington for the first time since her nail-biting but extraordinary Turnbull Stakes win last Saturday.

But Waller said this week will only be a light one for his seven-year-old superstar before she clicks into gear in the rundown to the Cox Plate.

“I think she will take improvement from the run,” Waller said. “It was the perfect type of gallop - she went back, she settled, she finished off strongly.

“It will tidy her up for three weeks’ time.

“We had three runners on the day and all the riders said they felt the ground was perfect, so that was a big plus for the horses.

“That will naturally bring her on.”

Admitting last week’s run was a relief as much as anything else, he said Winx had come through the run well, and some light beach time had been the best thing for the most talked-about horse in the country.

“We’ve got an aqua walker in our stable back in Sydney ... they go on there for a couple of days. We are just simulating that,” he said.

“This week is easy for her. (Tuesday) morning was her first day back on the track.

“We will do a little bit more next week and in the last week, we will just keep her nice and sharp.”

He said it remained a privilege to train the champion mare, who has won 28 races in succession - and 32 overall - and who is on the cusp of breaking through the $20 million prize-money bracket.

“She is a delight to train and to watch,” he said.

PRICE SHUTS DOWN GRUNT’S SPRING AFTER FAILURE
MICK Price has pulled the pin on Grunt’s Cox Plate-Melbourne Cup campaign after his failure in last Saturday’s Turnbull Stakes.

The Australian Guineas winner was a $16 second favourite for the Cox Plate with Humidor — behind the odd-on Winx — after his dominant win in the Makybe Diva Stakes last month, beating home equal Caulfield Cup favourite Kings Will Dream.

But his last two runs, sixth in the Underwood Stakes and a fading last in the Turnbull, has seen Price back off the ambitious plans he had for the four-year-old.

He will now either contest the Kennedy Mile (the Cantala Stakes) on Derby Day or head to the paddock.

“I didn’t pay up for him in the Cox Plate (on Tuesday morning) and I didn’t pay up for him in the Melbourne Cup,” Price said on Tuesday. “He is out of them.”

“We took X-rays on Monday morning and whilst they were clean, there were signs of immaturity, so I am going to give myself seven-to-10 days with him.

“He is either going to go to the Cantala with roughly 57kg — as a mile at Flemington as a last run this prep, or he is going to go out (for a spell), with a view to him maybe being an Australian Cup or Queen Elizabeth horse (next year).”

Grunt, who hasn’t handled the Caulfield track in three starts this preparation, was an “immature Kiwi horse”, according to Price.

“We forgave him three times because he was (running) here (at Caulfield), but the other day was no good at all.”

The son of O’Reilly, who has won five of his 10 career starts, was one of the stars of the Melbourne autumn, winning the C.S. Hayes before holding out Peaceful State to win the Australian Guineas. Price is hoping that with time he can regain that sort of form.