Black Caviar’s big day arrives

The six-year-old has an incredible record of 21 victories from as many starts in her homeland and connections are keen for her to gain recognition on a world stage by bringing her to Britain’s summer showpiece meeting. Having been fitted with a specially-made compression suit for her gruelling 30-hour-plus journey across the globe earlier this month, it is clear nothing has been left to chance and Moody has been thrilled with his pride and joy since his arrival at Newmarket.

The recent rain that has fallen in Berkshire is perhaps not ideal for a mare that has done the majority of winning on a faster surface, but her trainer is not overly concerned. “They keep saying the straight course drains well and I don’t know if there’ll be too much more rain,” said Moody. “It’s the greatest job in the world being a weather man, you can keep getting it wrong and hold a job. If I did that I’d be out of a job and I wouldn’t have a horse to train. We’ve just been mixing it up with her. We went to the Al Bahathri one day and we’ve taken her down town on another.

“It’s not hard to keep her interested in these surroundings (in Newmarket), you can do something different every day and it’s just a matter of equating the workload to what she’d do back home. I think she’s exactly where I want her. Fitness levels are good and everything seems right.

“Like any horse, little things can go wrong and you probably worry a little bit more with her, especially because we’re so far from home but it’s all gone to plan thus far. We’ve had the whole team here, they are all familiar hands and we’re all really pleased.”

In some ways the pressure is on long odds-on favourite Black Caviar to produce something special. The mare is the second highest-rated racehorse on the planet behind Frankel, who blew his opposition away in Tuesday’s Queen Anne Stakes. Moody clearly has his own feelings about who is the best, but he is not worrying about his mare’s margin of victory, only getting the job done.

“It’s a pity we can’t get Frankel to run again on Saturday, but she’s the focus for the rest of the week now,” said Moody. “We’ve seen some great racing this week. Watching Frankel on Tuesday was something to behold, I’ll remember it for the rest of my career. There’s a line of thought that we should put them to the sword and do a Frankel, but it’s never been about that, we won’t let the hype get into us. We’re out there to win, a quarter of an inch will do me, get the cheque and get home.

“The Poms have been putting the Aussies to the sword most of their lives in wars and so on, so I don’t think we need to put her to the sword to help them out.”

Black Caviar has the expectation of an entire nation behind her, and Moody added: “It’s probably pretty important for the Australian racing industry as a whole and it’s the first time we’ve had a horse rated this high on the world stage. I’d be lying if I didn’t think I had some obligation to the Australian racing industry to make sure this works.

“We don’t want to be belittled if our horse gets rolled by a horse rated quite inferior. Certainly my reputation and my ability to travel a horse is on the line. I said to my wife I hope I don’t stuff up. She said you haven’t in 21 times yet, just don’t change too much.”

Jockey Luke Nolen has partnered Black Caviar to 18 of her successes and he too is focusing on victory rather than an exuberant performance. The rider has experienced Ascot in previous years in the Shergar Cup and also had a good spin earlier this week, finishing fourth in the King’s Stand Stakes on Medicean Man. “I’m obviously looking forward to the race. I haven’t sat on her for a few days, but they tell me she’s in good nick,” said Nolen. “The ground is what it is. We’ve all got to get through it. It’s the same for all the horses in the race. I had a nice ride on Tuesday. It was nice to get a feel of the place again. I’m just going out there to win the race on her. We’re not here to beat them up, we’re just here to win. Hopefully that’s what we’ll do.”

Part-owner Neil Werrett admits he is slightly concerned about seeing Black Caviar tackle testing conditions and highlights Freddie Head’s French challenger Moonlight Cloud as the most obvious threat. “We’re pretty excited. Unfortunately the rain has come but be what may and she’ll be there on Saturday,” said Werrett. “We’ve brought her a long way to run and Peter is confident that she can handle the rain and the wet track.”

Black Caviar is known for her laid-back demeanour, but Werrett believes she will come alive at Ascot. “She won’t be asleep when she gets in the mounting area on Saturday. She’ll certainly know when the game is on,” he said. “My understanding is that there are six or seven thousand Australians coming to see her and we’ve got 150 of the (owners’) families here and we’re looking forward to it.”

Asked whether Black Caviar could be retired if she was well beaten, Werrett said: “I haven’t thought about that one. We’re a bit more positive than that. If that happened, I think we’d just go to the scotch bottle!”