Black Caviar: most horses average 37mph but she has clocked 45mph
PICTURE: Getty Images
By Sam Walker
WORLD CLASS: an analysis of the international scene according to Racing Post Ratings
If the reason for racing horses is to find out which one is fastest then we may as well give up now. We’ve found her.
Before she had even won a Group 1 the Racing Post was first to declare Black Caviar the fastest horse on the planet and in 14 starts since then, she’s done nothing but prove that right.
There’s a perception in Australia that the Brits don’t believe, but there isn’t much need for belief when the facts stack up so readily.
Most horses average about 37mph in a race, but she has clocked a sustained 45mph, breaking 10 seconds for 200m. She’s fast alright and that’s not her only asset.
There used to be a common theme for sprinters to be seasonal, temperamental, vulnerable, inconsistent, conditions dependent; essentially they were all beatable.
But not this one. Not the fastest horse on the planet. There’s a reliability factor with her which is quite uncommon. It’s like clockwork.
She always sits prominently in her races before skipping clear mid-race and winning eased down; she always plays to a sell out crowd; always runs to a mark in the high 120s or low 130s and Peter Moody always praises her afterwards and then bemoans having to go to Royal Ascot. Always.
For three years she and her trainer have played to the metronome, beating out a relentless string of unbroken victories which can only come from being vastly superior and well handled.
In her last 15 starts she has brokenthe record for number of consecutive 129+ RPRs (ten), the total number of 130+ RPRs (seven) and consecutive performances rated 125+ (15 and counting).
The lower end of those figures were achieved against lesser horses in easy style, but the high end figures were also achieved in easy style against the best Australia has to offer.
This is elite level performing at its most extreme. When she can guarantee to drum out a 125+ figure no matter who or where she’s racing, and with the benefit of a mare’s allowance, there isn’t anything that can get close.
Moody likes to play up to the traditional Anglo-Aussie sporting rivalry by jibing about the quality of the opposition and the prize-money atRoyal Ascot but there could not be a more fitting event for Black Caviar.
The queen of the Australian turf running at the royal meeting, in the presence of the Queen of Australia (and the commonwealth), in jubilee year, in the first ever running of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
The setting could not be more perfect. Some might say it was meant to be.
It’s the last day of the meeting, a Saturday and she will be the biggest name on the bill; terrestrial TV coverage and an international audience all focused on one great mare.
The front page of the Racing Post on June 23 will ask whether she can make it 22 – if she runs to form she will.
Moody has already said he won’t be pressured into running if she is not right on the day and he’s right to get that in now. Consider every eventuality. No stone unturned. That’s why she’s still unbeaten.
He suggests that it’s the owners who wanted to bring Black Caviar to Royal Ascot and that he doesn’t see the point; that she will not prove herself any more against Euro sprinters than she already has against Aussies. He has also repeatedly complained about the prize-money.
He’s right about the rivals. They won’t be any stronger. Next best in the Diamond Jubilee on adjusted RPRs is the French filly Moonlight Cloud (122). If everything ran to their best, Black Caviar should win by just over three lengths.
But prize-money shouldn’t be an issue with such a great horse. If money was all that mattered the best horses in the world would all set up camp in Japan and rarely leave.
Racing is about more than just money and in Black Caviar’s case it’s about making history and being remembered for her amazing natural talent.
In any case, the win prize for the Diamond Jubilee is better than in three of the last four Group 1s she landed in Australia.
On Saturday she was devastating, never hitting top gear and winning eased down with an RPR of 128+. She was a 1-20 shot and the rivals were a relatively weak bunch, although the runner-up We’re Gonna Rock (115) seems to be going the right way and she cantered all over him.
Next stop Europe. And, Brit or Aussie, everyone wants her to get there, run her race, and win well. Same as normal really, although perhaps Moody will be a little more polite about Royal Ascot after her next win.
It was a Classic weekend in France, where the colts took to the stage in the Poulains and the fillies in the Pouliches.
The colts race rarely turns up a good one nowadays and on Sunday, as is often the case, it was the winner of the Pouliches who looked the best prospect.
She was Beauty Parlour, the favourite, who won by a length from the Coolmore filly Up with an RPR of 117+. It was anice effort from the winner and she might yet make into a low 120s filly and, being by stamina merchant Deep Impact, the Prix de Diane looks a gimme.
Let’s get things in perspective though, the form doesn’t look particularly strong. She will need to step up a lot to mix it with the best colts in Europe and a quote of 12-1 for the Arc is clearly overstating what she has achieved to date.
There was a steady pace to the Poulains and pacemaker Veneto (114) held on for second in a tight finish, where less than three-lengths separated the first ten.
Furner’s Green sadly collapsed and died after finishing third and he would have been the one to take out of the race, having stayed on nicely from an unpromising position.
Lucayan (115) won the race but he will have to improve again to make the frame in a proper Group 1.
TOP OF THE CLASS: Black Caviar 128+ Peter Moody (Aus) (The Goodwood, Morphettville, 6f, 12 May)
TOP LIST
| Name (country trained) | Race | Rating | |
| 1 |
Black Caviar (Aus) | Lightning Stakes | 130T |
| Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) | Prix Ganay | 130T | |
| 3 | Hay List (Aus) | Newmarket Handicap | 129T |
| 4 | Orfevre (Jap) | Hanshin Daishoten | 128T |
| Wise Dan (US) | Ben Ali | 128A | |
| 6 | Bodemeister (US) | Arkansas Derby | 126D |
| Cityscape (GB) | Dubai Duty Free | 126T | |
| I’ll Have Another (US) | Kentucky Derby | 126D | |
| Monterosso (UAE) | Dubai World Cup | 126A | |
| 10 | Foxwedge (Aus) | William Reid | 125T |
| Caleb’s Posse (US) | Carter Handicap | 125D | |
| Rulership (Jap) | QEII Cup | 125T |
TOP TURF PERFORMERS
| Name (country trained) | Race | Rating | |
| 1 |
Black Caviar (Aus) | Lightning Stakes | 130 |
| Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) | Prix Ganay | 130 | |
| 3 |
Hay List (Aus) | Newmarket Handicap | 129 |
| 4 | Orfevre (Jap) | Hanshin Daishoten | 128 |
| 5 | Cityscape (HK) | Dubai Duty Free | 126 |
| 6 | Rulership (Jap) | QEII Cup | 125 |
| Foxwedge (Aus) | William Reid | 125 | |
| 8 | Ambitious Dragon (HK) | Stewards’ Cup/HKGC | 124 |
| St Nicholas Abbey (Ire) | Sheema Classic | 124 | |
| Rain Affair (Aus) | Expressway/Apollo | 124 | |
| More Joyous (Aus) | Sapphire Stakes | 124 | |
| Atlantic Jewel (Aus) | Sapphire Stakes | 124 | |
| To The Glory (Jap) | Shinshun Hai | 124 |
TOP DIRT PERFORMERS
| Name (country trained) | Race | Rating | |
| 1 | Bodemeister (US) | Arkansas Derby | 126 |
| I’ll Have Another (US) | Kentucky Derby | 126 | |
| 3 | Caleb’s Posse (US) | Carter Handicap | 125 |
| 4 | To Honor And Serve (US) | Westchester S | 124 |
| 5 |
Game On Dude (US) | San Antonio | 123 |
| Smart Falcon (Jap) | Kawasaki Kinen | 123 | |
| Jackson Bend (US) | Carter Handicap | 123 | |
| 8 | Amazombie (US) | Potrerop Grande Stakes | 122 |
| Dullahan (US) | Kentucky Derby | 122 | |
| The Factor (US) | San Carlos | 122 | |
| Union Rags (US) | Fountain Of Youth | 122 |
TOP ALL-WEATHER PERFORMERS
| Name (country trained) | Race | Rating | |
| 1 | Wise Dan (US) | Ben Ali | 128 |
| 2 |
Monterosso (UAE) | DubaiWorld Cup | 126 |
| 3 | Krypton Factor (BHR) | Golden Shaheen | 123 |
| 4 | Musir (SAF) | Maktoum Challenge R1 | 122 |
| 5 | African Story (UAE) | Godolphin Mile | 121 |
| 6 | Capponi (UAE) | Dubai World Cup | 120 |
| 7 | Planteur (GB) | Dubai World Cup | 119 |
| 8 | Prince Bishop (UAE) | Meydan Hcap | 118 |
| Dullahan (US) | Blue Grass Stakes | 118 | |
| So You Think (Ire) | Dubai World Cup | 118 |
Da Racingpost, martedì 15/05/2012
