It goes without saying, that racing can be a boots and all business. Take no prisoners, nail the other bloke to the wall and above all, make sure you can rip as much money out of his pocket as you possibly can. Who gives a Billy Buck about the integrity of the sport? Break out the needles and race 'em into the ground, and once we're done with 'em, ship 'em off to the slaughter house. It's the bottom line that counts. But there is another side to racing, a more noble side. One where people do in fact care about the well being of our equine friends. It can not be argued that there is not a genuine love of the horse, in our society. Little girls the world over, lavish more love on the ponies than they do on the brothers. That must mean something. But this short essay is not about adolescent girls with National Velvet complexes, it's about the adoration we heap upon champion racehorses. Tomorrow at Caulfield in the G2 Schillaci Stakes, champion mare Black Caviar will again gird her loins for battle. The 1000m scamper should see the wonder horse go to the post at the prohibitive odds of 1-20 as she looks to extend her unbeaten run to 14, a feat that will see her climb alongside the immortal Phar Lap. It was hoped by racing fans that Black Caviar would return to contest a G1 event, in the hope that she'd be given the chance to emulate the great Bernborough's 7 straight G1 wins, but alas it's not to be. Early in the week, Black Caviar's trainer had the mare work alone in the darkness at about 4:30am, in an effort to avoid the cameras. No hope. They were all over like a rash. It has not been verified, but the rumour is that the mare scorched through a blistering final 400m in sub 20 seconds. It sounds a little hard to believe, but who am I to question the veracity of the information? Black Caviar is expected to have little in the way of competition in the Schillaci, but the race might prove to be more than just a stroll in the park for the world's premier sprinter. For, from up country, comes a 3 year old filly with wings on her heels. Officially declared New South Wales Country Horse of the Year, Karuta Queen is expected to explode from the gate, in an effort to make every post a winner. She too has been noticed in track work this week. She spotted a couple of companions 5 lengths from the 600m, and easily rounded them up, stopping the clock in sub 34. That was from leader to post, so Karuta Queen also burnt some turf. She probably won't be able to hold off Black Caviar when they drop the hammer, but she will inject a bit more interest in the race.
Cyclonic, good day! I see Black Caviar's grandaddy is Royal Academy. Those O'Briens- they get in everywhere! He seems quite a sprinter. Apart from TV, have you seen him run and how do you rate him? Have his connections 'chickened out' by not going for another Group One? I see Timeform give him 135, although they do go a bit 'bananas' on any unbeaten animal.
No Tam, I have not seen the horse in the flesh, but she's some sort of animal. To win 6 G1 races in a season and duck nothing says she's earned her feed. The way she won our premier sprint, the Newmarket stamped her as something special. As you know, I ain't exactly a Timeform fan, so I won't comment on her rating.
Morning Cyc from what i've read they are going to run her 4 times over the next few months and then give her a break, and then run her again in the fall,then they are going to prepare her for a trip to the UK.And who Knows if she travels well maybe we will see her at the breeders,.By all accounts ,connections of Black Caviar have already gone to Newmarket to check things out for her,as the trainor says the training schedule is diferrent in the UK compared to Aus, I'm surprised they are racing her so much in the upcoming year,the 6 slap rule with the whip will be an advantage for her as well over in the UK, I also thougt they would have raced her in Hong Kong or Japan before letting her loose in the UK,but i'm not the trainer so what would i know.
It's no surprise to us over here to see her run so often Islander. It's pretty much the norm. Build them into a ball of muscle, feed 'em well, and they'll back up for ever. There is a view in this country that some tend to underestimate the abilities of the of a horse to perform regularly. We breed 'em tough down here, none of this three times a year rubbish. P.S. Looks like Sepoy could be heading to the UK too next year.
Just watching mostly, at the moment,getting a betting bank together for the Breeders.Doing some form studying,but still to early to know whos running in what race and who is going to actually run. Does not look as good as other years, a good chance to get some decent priced bets. I'm worried about Goldie though, i've always backed her at the breeders,but i have my doubts this year,will have to put her in some exoctics,but no money on the nose this year,I do hope she wins for sentimental reasons, but with her age and form of late is questionable,She has alot of hard run races in her career and now they are catching up with her. 5/2 at the moment,if she drifts a little i could be tempted.We will see on the day
I've been a bit slow getting around to the Breeders, but will be into it this year. Anyways, bed time. Take it easy mate.
The fear of racing. Every time a horse such as this steps out, the great fear is that the run is going to come to an abrupt end. I should not have bothered, she cantered in. Nice run by the country filly though. Melbourne Race 4. http://www.racingnetwork.com.au/sch...ate/2011-10-08/race/4/trackid/16/default.aspx
Another walk in the park Cyc - what a fabulous mare. Can't wait to see her at Royal Ascot next year. Thanks for posting mate
Looks as though Sepoy might be making the trip too. It's stablemate Helmet smashed them in the Caulfield Guineas today, and in the interview after the race, trainer Peter Snowden said he wasn't in Sepoy's class. So things are looking pretty good for the UK trips.
I missed him completely Jana. He's a talented bloke who who has just been a little short in quite a few major races. It's nice to see another middle distance animal make the trip North. I don't know what they are chasing, but it's a hell of a trip for nothing. He must be going ok seeing as he's with Suroor. They've kept him pretty safe in the market too. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the heads up. Much appreciated.
Who needs a whip rule when you have a horse called Black Caviar, she will not be beaten in the uk, with this new rule.
Watched the replay, and that was another impressive victory from the mare, cruised away from them on the bit. Not sure why she is running in a G2, but hey. It's her first run of the season, so maybe that's why. She is a wonderful race mare, could well go down as the best ever, by the time she calls it a day. She must stay unbeaten though, if she wants that accolade. It would be great if she came to Royal Ascot, it realy would be. I dont see anything in Europe that could get near her. Our best is probably the soon to be retired Dream Ahead, and I dont feel he would give her much of a race, so what hope have our sprinters got against her. Frankel would probably be the only horse in the world with enough speed and a big enough engine to go toe to toe with her, but I can't see that he will ever run over sprint distances, now he has learnt to settle over a mile
Shergy, this is an international thread, what the hell are you doing on it,i thought that your opinion was that no other horse racing existad outside of the UK, if it did it was second rated and the horses that entered were not worthy of a mention. Friggin hipocrit
