Winona (horse)

Winona made her racecourse debut in a seven furlong maiden race at Leopardstown Racecourse on 19 July 1997. Starting at odds of 5/1 in a sixteen-runner field ahe took the lead approaching the final furlong and won "comfortably" by two lengths from the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt Desert Fox.[6] The filly was then moved up sharply in class to contest the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes over the same distance at the Curragh on 7 September, but despite starting second favourite she made little impact and came home tenth of the twelve runners behind Tarascon. She was back at the Curragh four weeks later for the C L Weld Park Stakes and produced a much better effort, finishing second to the British-trained favourite Alborada with Shahtoush in fourth place. Pat Smullen took the ride when Winona ended her season with a run in the Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown on 27 October. Racing on softer ground than she had previously encountered she failed to show her best form and finished fifth behind Kincara Palace.

Winona did not race as a three-year-old until 24 May when she started a 25/1 outsider for the Irish 1,000 Guineas over one mile at the Curragh. She was retrained by Murtagh and was still in ninth place with two furlongs left to ru but then stayed on strongly and finished fourth behind Tarascon, Kitza and the favoured La Nuit Rose. On 17 June she was sent to England for the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot and started a 16/1 outsider in a nine-runner field. As at the Curragh she kept on well in the closing stages and finished third behind Exclusive and Zalaiyka (winner of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches). Winona was stepped up in distance to contest the Irish Oaks over one and a half miles at the Curragh on 12 July and started the 12/1 third favourite behind Bahr (runner-up in The Oaks), Glorosia and Kitza. After racing in fourth place and turning into the straight in third, she took the lead a furlong and a half out and drew right away to win in "impressive" style by seven lengths from Kitza.[7] After the race Oxx said "We didn't know how good she really was. I wasn't certain she would stay a mile and a half and was no more than hopeful before the race, although she did stay on well over a mile, both here and at Ascot. I need not have worried. The pace wasn't all that fast and John was always well placed".[8] Commenting on the margin of victory, Johnny Murtagh said "I couldn't hear anything behind me and there was no big screen to have a look!".[9]

Winona failed to reproduce her Curragh form in two subsequent races. In the Prix Vermeille over 2400 metres on heavy ground at Longchamp Racecourse on 13 September she started 7/2 second favourite but finished ninth of the eleven runners behind Leggera. On her final start she was sent to California for the Yellow Ribbon Stakes at Santa Anita Park in November and came home eighth of the ten runners behind Fiji after fading in the straight.[10]