Champion mare Winx will launch her autumn campaign in the $600,000 TAB G1 Chipping Norton Stakes (1600m) on March 3 at Royal Randwick, Chris Waller has announced.

Originally, the G2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) on February 17 had been slated as her first up target, the race which she has resumed in over the past two years, but with Hugh Bowman unable to maintain her association with Winx there has been a change of plans.

"Hugh Bowman is a very important part of Winx and we feel that we can go straight into the Chipping Norton first up without the need to resume in the Apollo Stakes as we had originally planned," Waller said in a statement.

"She races well fresh and we are ahead of schedule with her, so I will simply give her a third trial to ensure her fitness levels are high enough to compete at her best in this race."

Waller continued, "Should Hugh have been suspended in the middle or late in the preparation closer to her significant targets we would have opted to use a suitable replacement rider."