I have written about her before on this blog so she really isn’t a secret.
How could I love someone else? It is hard not to and I am not the only one that is smitten by her, she has hundreds of thousands of admiring fans.
How would I describe her? She is a work of beauty, absolutely breathtaking in full flight, she is so calm but confident, and she gleams after she goes about her job.
She is 5 years old and weighs about 575kgs. That is large I agree but she is all muscle. She is brown but goes black in colour when lathered in sweat.
Okay, I am talking about a horse, and not just any horse. She has captured the attention of the nation. There would be hardly a person who had not heard of her in Australia and also there are many that know of her around the world, she even has her own website.
Black Caviar is known a sprinter, the world’s best sprinter. And she is now in her third year of racing and has captured the hearts of a nation each time she starts.
Black Caviar was born on the 18th of August 2006 at 5.20am. Her name was chosen by a co-owner. Black Caviar’s grandmother was Scandinavia and apparently black caviar comes from Scandinavian countries.
You can read all about her breeding here. Her colours of salmon with black dots were designed by a co-owners daughter.
Then in 2008 at The Inglis Premier Yearling sales, lot 520 from Swettenham Stud had their horse in the ring.
Top Melbourne trainer Peter Moody had in his words, “I instantly fell in love with her.”
And this, “She just had a presence about her, an action about her, every time she took a stride every part of her body moves. It's like walking down the beach and seeing certain parts of someone's anatomy wiggle or that and you just can't help yourself, you've got to turn round and have a look.”
Moody didn’t have a client or owners in mind so he was on his phone making calls. Probably the luckiest and best phone call these clients have received in their lives.
She cost $210,000 and connections initially put in $35,000 each to cover the purchase fee and training fees for a year. That now is nothing looking at her prize money of $3,595,050 Australian dollars.
But what has captured the nation, is her 14 starts for now 14 wins. She is undefeated and on Saturday past equaled legendary horse Phar Lap’s record. You can watch above her win in the Schillaci Stakes over 1000mtrs and hear the crowd come to voice as she effortlessly strides up to tackle a Sydney raider and top sprinter Karuta Queen who was 5.5kgs lighter.
Karuta Queen’s jockey Tommy Berry said this, "I didn't think I could beat her. I just thought it would be a dream to beat her," "She's a freak (Black Caviar). I couldn't have been going any better and she cantered past me. That will be my biggest thrill."
And Berry said this about a possible rematch in the Group Two Schweppes Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day. "I don't think there is any point in breaking her heart twice,"
Karuta Queen's trainer Neville Layt said it was a "privilege" to run second to Black Caviar.
"At the 600m I thought 'Tommy son you're in trouble'. She's a freak. She just cantered up to my filly and my filly still ran a great race," Layt said.
"I'm proud to run second to a mare like her. My little filly didn't let me down. She was travelling sweet in the run. That mare is just unbelievable."
Black Caviar racing career started with an explosion. She won her trial easily and people started thinking that she could be special.
Then on April 18th 2009 she had her first race start.
She won by 5 lengths and did it easily and Peter Moody thought, “How good is this horse and how good could she be?”
She then won her second and third races easily. Then onto the home of Melbourne racing at Flemington for her fourth start.
The barriers opened and she knuckled or blundered, hearts went into mouths as her nose nearly touched the ground. She still won the race. She ran a quick time of 1-09.96 for 1200mtrs or 6 furlongs.
Race caller Greg Miles said, “It was probably the first time a horse has got close to her and she looked a little bit vulnerable that day. She still won, but she wasn't right.”
And she wasn’t, Moody had thought something was wrong and was right, Black Caviar had pulled muscles in her chest, and when a horse gets an injury it can mean it will never be back to the horse it was, or may never race again.
Moody spelled her, she goes away to recuperate and heal. She is brought back to the stable ready to race again. Disaster strikes again. She injures her leg and again has to be put out to the spelling paddock.
In nearly a year she had one race start. From the 5th of September 2009 until the 20th of September 2010 she stepped out on the 22nd of January 2010 for a win.
Connections and trainer were worried that this horse with so much talent would never show her potential.
Thankfully this wasn’t the case. She returned to racing and has humbled all before her. Even the few who held the good old Aussie fighting character like trainer John McNair with top sprinter Haylist.
McNair claimed in May 2009 that Haylist would beat her but to date this hasn’t happened, in four starts has three seconds and a race to forget.
Their last race was in Brisbane the BTC Cup and again she lowered his colours in a sensational time of 1-8.85 for the 1200mtrs.
But McNair is a fighter and in September 2011 he again has said, "We've never had the chance to meet Black Caviar at 100 per cent and should that happen and Black Caviar was only a tiny bit off, I'm convinced she'd get rolled."
"She's always had the right barriers and little things have gone her way against us. That's not an excuse because she has won comprehensively. But if they ever get to the stage where we're at the top of our game and she's not totally 100 per cent in every way, then the tables will turn.
"I've had it said to me we should dodge Black Caviar because if she keeps beating Hay List, it would break his heart. But he is not that sort of horse. He never gives up."
Now, balls to McNair as many trainers have dodged races with Black Caviar nominated as they know they cannot win but John being a true Aussie never lies down.
One thing I do like are the level heads in the Black Caviar camp. With so many asking, “Is she better than the great Phar Lap.”
Peter Moody said, "Phar Lap kept the nation on its feet during the Depression. I think it's very unfair to him. Nothing will ever equal him."
Co-owner Neil Werrett said, "Phar Lap is in a league of his own but she's a good second."
And jockey Luke Nolen said, "I am thrilled to think they are put in the same company. Phar Lap is the best horse Australian racing has ever seen and had a record of a superstar, whereas she's got a long way to go.”
"If she continues to win like this, then yeah, we can probably start to mention her in the same breath."
She is the best going around today and the great horses of the past are just that. It is like comparing the best AFL football players of 50 years ago to today’s stars, very hard and many different opinions.
I look forward to her going on to her next start that will more than likely be on Cox Plate day at Moonee Valley on October 22nd in the Group Two Schweppes Stakes over 1200mtrs.
Then onto start 16 on November 5th in the 1 million Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic over 1200mtrs at Flemington.
I also look forward to the day she travels abroad and shows the loudmouths from Europe, Americas and such just how good she is.
She has her doubters and critics as she has not raced abroad against the supposed world’s best sprinters. But I like this from Saturday from British trainer Brian Ellison, his Melbourne Cup contender Moyenne Corniche had just ran third in yesterday's Herbert Power race.
He said ''I think everyone knows about her and we've got nothing at home that can beat her. 'The only thing that can beat her is herself.''
And with that not I will sign off. Tomorrow this super-mare will again be up well before the sun while most of us sleep.
Brunty
1 comment:
A horse racing blog? I guess a change is as good as a holiday - but what ever happened to your Aussie Rules Football posts? If I remember your team made it to the grand final and you were crowing about that as loud as could be and then suddenly - nothing! What happened?
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