She came, she saw and she again conquered. The massive mare Black Caviar, today affirmed her status as the World’s best sprinter with a power house display of raw, sustained speed, the likes of which this country seldom sees. Sent to the starting stalls of the Group One Newmarket Handicap as a very heavily backed commodity, she was loaded away as a 1-5 favourite, on the back of sensational support. She carried not only the hungry expectations of the nation draped across her broad shoulders, she also carried a single bet of $200,000 with a major firm who admitted to a possible $1,000,000 of punter’s money on their books, almost entirely for the champion. This was their second tilt against Black Caviar, after carrying the same exposure in the Lightening. They paid a big price that day, they did so again today. Shooting for her tenth straight unbeaten run, a record for a metropolitan start to a race career in Australia, Black Caviar hopped from the gates with her accustomed pace, but as was expected, the Golden Slipper winner, the flying filly Crystal Lily, mustered more speed and shot straight to the front. Grand Duels and Black Caviar settled just a couple of lengths off the lead, with King Pulse on her inside. Beaded and Star Witness headed the rest in what looked a race, where those back in the pack, would struggle to get into the fight when the gauntlet was finally thrown to the ground. With the field coming to the centre of the sun drenched course, Crystal Lily looked to make every post a winner. Boldly she cast ’em down as she attempted to take the sting out of those following in her wake. Steven Baster rated the wonderful filly to perfection up front, he was a man on a mission. Sadly for her connections though, it turned out to be a mission impossible. As they blasted past the 600m pole, it quickly became apparent to all and sundry, that this was going to be a one act affair. It was at this point that the amassed voices on course began to assert themselves. Any one with two eyes in the front of their head, could see that something special was about to unfold, and they set about making sure that they had a part to play in the proceedings. Crystal Lily looked as though she’d hit the wall as they charged past the clock tower. In a matter of a few strides, both Grand Duels and Black Caviar claimed the front runner. Grand Duels for a few seconds seemed a chance as he ranged up. Black Caviar was under double wraps. Crystal Lily was flat to the boards. As soon as Grand Duels was asked for the big effort, he stopped as though hit between the eyes with a sledge hammer. Not so the champ though. Still under a strong hold, Luke Nolan eased the monster to the front about 500m out. Crystal Lily, much to her credit, raised another effort. She was by now a couple off the now gone Black Caviar, but with great resolve, she began to move away from the rest. It was left to Beaded to make late ground to snatch third place in the race. At the 300m line that’s painted across the track, Luke Nolan asked the mighty mare to show her wares. She exploded away. She’d gone from being hard held in front while the rest were hard ridden, to just gone. So easy was the mare traveling, she had time to take a slight brain fade with about a hundred to go. Nolan gave her a single tap to keep her mind on the job, then put her back on the steel in the run to the post. Despite being hard held the mare still managed to stop the clock at 1.07.36, just .2 of a second outside the course record. Black Caviar came through the last 600m in a sensational 32.67. Those behind her had no hope. So how good is Black Caviar, and where does she stand in the pantheon of Australian sprinting greats? In truth, she has a long way to go before she can take a seat beside them. The Newmarket was just her third G1 win. The great Manikato won a dozen such events. Some of the races he won have since been up graded to top status. If they were included, his G1 win tally would be 17. Before him came the horse that many (including myself) consider to be probably the best of all time, Vain, Black Caviar’s grandfather. In the late 50s Tommy Smith unearthed a horse then thought of as the best, Todman. He was also a machine. Of the modern era, Vain gets the nod from Todman. There have been a host of other sensational sprinters who have carved illustrious careers much better than this wonderful mare has done to date. Make no mistake, she is the best around, but to match these other greats, Black Caviar is going to have to keep the ball rolling for some time yet.
