Coal mine puts champion racehorse Winx's mating future in doubt

The breeding future of legendary racing mare Winx is in doubt as a plan to re-open a coal mine threatens the home of Australia's most expensive top quality stud sire. Winx's owners announced in June they would mate the seven-year-old mare with leading sire I Am Invincible at the Yarraman Park Stud in Scone, New South Wales, for her first breeding season, after expert advice from bloodstock professionals. Beloved racehorse Winx won 33 consecutive races, setting a world record, and was the world's top-ranked turf horse in 2016, 2017 and 2018 The Dartbrook Mine closed in 2006 amid falling coal prices after a chequered 12-year history that included spontaneous combustion fires and ongoing safety issues including the death of three workers under former owners Anglo Coal. Winx's owners announced in June they would mate the seven-year-old mare with leading sire I Am Invincible at the Yarraman Park Stud Australian Pacific Coal said in a submission to the Independent Planning Commission that the mine's surface water extraction would not impact on the quantity or quality of the water supply for the horse studs upstream, the ABC reported.