Via Sistina showed the heart of a champion at Randwick on Saturday, outlasting her stablemate Aeliana in the Group 1 Winx Stakes (1400m) to extend her record to nine top-level victories.

Resuming from her Queen Elizabeth Stakes win, the star mare looked vulnerable when Aeliana challenged strongly in the final stages. But much like Winx against Foxplay in 2016, Via Sistina refused to yield, digging in for a narrow but decisive neck victory.

“It was almost a Foxplay moment, wasn’t it?” Waller said. “We’ve got a couple of decent mares on our hands.”

Her victory came despite Waller’s concerns about the heavy 10 track, which he voiced both before and after the meeting. “My doubt was, where are we after today? In two weeks’ time, four weeks’ time?” he said. He urged officials to consider giving Randwick and Rosehill a break in July when the turf struggles to recover. “They need Via Sistina winning second up, third up, fourth up… We’ve got to have all the best horses for as many times during the spring as we can.”

Via Sistina’s season is expected to mirror last year, heading towards another Cox Plate assault. Aeliana lost no admirers with her brave effort, while Arapaho ran a strong third and Ceolwulf charged into fourth ahead of the Chelmsford Stakes (1600m).

The Winx Stakes capped a stellar day for Waller and James McDonald, who also combined with Autumn Glow in the Toy Show Quality and Lazzura in the Show County Quality.