Black Caviar tastes Australia success

BLACK Caviar notched her 17th straight victory with the minimum of fuss in the Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley yesterday.

The great Antipodean mare is second to Frankel in the official worldwide ratings and a big crowd had gathered just to see her run.

Jockey Luke Nolen settled the unbeaten six-year-old in third early on and asked Peter Moody’s charge to quicken turning for home. Under minimum pressure, she changed gear before stretching clear of Zedi Knight for a comfortable win.

The dream is that Black Caviar turns up at Royal Ascot in June to take on the best Europe has to offer. In preparation, Moody is due to step her up to seven furlongs next time in the CF Orr Stakes at Caulfield on 11 February.

William Hill have priced her at 4-5 to take gold at the Royal meeting in June. Moody’s star was priced at 6-4 when Royal Ascot talk first surfaced, and is now an odds-on chance to taste Berkshire glory. William Hill’s Lucy Rhodes said “Black Caviar’s winning run is showing no signs of abating, and, should the Aussie speedster pay a visit to our shores, we hotly fancy her to make it a winning one.”