October
DecemberA labour in vain
Richo (17/12) has a hard job in front of him convincing those of us who saw Vain that he was inferior to Black Caviar.
When the mare finished her spring three-year-old season her record boasted four wins including two listed Races and a Group 2. At the same stage Vain had a Golden Slipper, a Champagne Stakes, a Caulfield Guineas and had defeated older horses as well.
It was his week during the Melbourne Cup carnival that cemented his greatness: the 1200-metre sprint, winning by 12 lengths (and running away) on the Saturday, the Linlithgow (1400m) on the Thursday in record time and, two days later, the open 1600m carrying a record weight for a three-year-old.
Three races in a week, reminiscent of Phar Lap’s wonderful week in 1930 when he won four in that same week. Is it any wonder that those who saw Phar Lap could never countenance any horse being better? And that’s the dilemma for those who saw Vain.
Black Caviar is a champion — we actually don’t know how good she is. But she has been handled perfectly, with her races well spaced. The minimum gap between her races is a fortnight — that’s a lot different to a spring three-year-old contesting three races in a week.
The horse Black Caviar should be compared with is Weekend Hussler. What a champion he was — an Oakleigh Plate, a Newmarket Handicap and the Ryder Stakes among four unbeaten runs as an autumn three-year-old before some genius decided he should be a cups horse.
Black Rock (Vic)