By MIKE DILLON
Racing legend Bart Cummings stood back from New Zealand wonder horse Sunline and said: "I probably haven't seen a better horse than that in 50 years."
The great Australian trainer is in a good position to judge - he trained a fair percentage of those he is comparing her with.
There was no argument from the standing-room-only crowd that packed Moonee Valley on Saturday to watch the champion New Zealand mare do a staggering destruction job on Australia's finest equine talent in the $A2 million ($2.5 million) Cox Plate.
This was not just a win. It was almost an embarrassing win. Almost.
The opposition were left shaking their heads after the record-equalling seven-length victory.
Rival jockey Jim Cassidy, who concedes little, said: "She [Sunline] broke our hearts, mine and my horse's," after climbing off fifth-placed Skoozi Please.
If you wonder why Sunline is so good, you have to accept the theory that although talent is important, the difference between champions and near champions is attitude.
In athletes, human and equine, the last 5 per cent comes not from the body, but the mind. And in terms of attitude, Sunline is the world champion.
Get in her way and you are going to know about it, probably by losing parts of your body. On this campaign aimed at Melbourne, Sunline has taken the tip off co-trainer Trevor McKee's finger, broken the face and hand of devoted strapper Claire Bird and generally bullied anyone else who has looked like getting in her space.
She is like that with her equine rivals. She hates being beaten. She is so competitive she has to be worked solo on the training track.
That sheer bloody mindedness and determination to win are also what can beat her on the track. It makes her race more fiercely than is tactically wise and Trevor McKee's one fear on Saturday was that she would begin to pull hard if she was restrained behind the pace. But former Kiwi jockey Greg Childs ensured that did not happen.
Australians adore a champion and Sunline is their sweetheart.
Childs stepped back from the microphone halfway through his acceptance speech to acknowledge a large group in the public grandstand wearing designer Sunline replica colours (light blue with red and yellow arms) from the Warren Bowling Club in New South Wales.
"This is the greatest horse race in Australia and Sunline is the greatest horse in the world," said one, Peter Fryda.
Stitched into the colours was: "Here at the Valley once more, To see the mighty mare soar. If only she was mine, Go you good thing, Sunline."
It is unlikely Banjo Paterson would have been jealous of the verse, but the sentiment was there.
Sunline became Australasia's greatest stake earner, taking her winnings to $A6,334,268.
The star mare is a big winner for McKee. Prizemoney is usually split between the trainers (10 per cent), jockey (5 per cent) and owners, who get the balance.
Racing: Sunline, you heartbreaking beauty
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