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• Review: Finished/Folkestone • Black Caviar wins #19 • Derby Future Pool 1 • Withers Stakes results • 2012 Triple Crown Trail |
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 Australian Champion Black Caviar |
Date: 02/18/2012
Currently, the best sprinter in the world is Black Caviar. The 6-year-old daughter of Bel Esprit out of the unraced Desert Sun mare Helsinge was foaled at Swettenham Stud in Nagambie, Victoria, and sold for $210,000 (all figures Australian) at the Inglis Melbourne Premier yearling sales. Her ownership group consists of a group of friends who go back as far as kindergarten, who decided to get organized and buy a racehorse together, a story similar to that of Sackatoga Stable, owners of 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide. With America's Zenyatta and France's Goldikova now retired from racing, the eyes of the racing world are firmly on Black Caviar, the latest in a recent line of popular fillies and mares to string together winning streaks and beat males on the track. Large crowds pack the stands for each of her starts, and she has yet to disappoint them, and racing fans in other countries all wish to someday see her ship overseas. There is a possibility she may ship to Dubai to run on World Cup night, but more likely she will compete at Royal Ascot, a meeting where Australian shippers have recently found success.
In a recent visit to Australia, photographer Amber Chalfin had the pleasure of visiting Black Caviar at the barn of her trainer Peter Moody. Moody keeps a stable of about 60 horses on the Caulfield Racecourse backstretch, with assistant Tony Haydon, wife Sarah, racing manager Jeff O'Connor, and office administrator Marni Kelly, and was the leading trainer in Australia for the last 2 seasons, wresting that title from the Hayes and Freedman clans which had a stranglehold on the premiership for over 3 decades. She has been ridden by jockey Luke Nolen for all of her starts except her first two, when Jarrad Noske was in the irons, and the 2010 Patinack Farm Classic, where Ben Melham replaced Nolen who was serving a suspension.
She has raced exclusively in stakes company except her debut, a restricted handicap for 2-year-olds in April 2009. Since then she has won the Patinack Farm Classic, Schweppes Stakes, Schillaci Stakes, Australia Stakes, and Lightning Stakes twice each. Interestingly she has never raced in Group 3 company, moving from Listed stakes directly to Group 2 in her fourth start, the Danehill stakes at Flemington. She has won by 6 lengths twice, and her closest margin was 3/4 length in the Danehill Stakes. She has only raced at sprint distances of 7 furlongs or less on the turf, and exclusively at Australia's top tracks of Flemington, Caulfield, Moonee Valley, and Randwick. On Friday January 27, she won the Australia Stakes (G2) for the second time, extending her unbeaten streak to 17. She stalked the early pace and then at the top of the short Moonee Valley stretch, found another gear and powered away to win by 4 1/4 lengths over Zedi Knight in a time of 1:09.44 for 1200 meters over good turf. On Saturday February 11, she stretched out to 1400 meters (7 furlongs) in the C.F. Orr Stakes (G1) at home at Caulfield and did not disappoint in her 18th start, stalking the pace as usual then taking over at the 3/16 pole to win by 3 lengths over late-closing Southern Speed in 1:25.14 over dead turf. Then a week later, on February 19, she equalled Zenyatta's 19-race win streak, taking the Lightning Stakes (G1) at Flemington for the second time by 1 3/4 lengths over Hay List in 55.53 seconds for the 1000 meters over good turf, just 3/100 second off the stakes and track record.
In the photo to the right, you can see her owner's brand. In Australia, horses to be registered in the Stud Book must have their parentage verified by DNA testing, as well as be microchipped and freeze-branded with both their owner's brand (left side) and a foal number (right side). Dry ice or liquid nitrogen cools the heavy copper or bronze iron which is then applied to a shaved area on the body, which destroys the pigment forming cells of the hair follicle. Hairs that grow from the branded follicles are white, leaving a permanent mark.
Please click the small photos to see a larger version.
More about Black Caviar:
Photos courtesy of Amber Chalfin
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