October
MayNothing to prove
Why is Black Caviar going to race at Royal Ascot next month?
I recall earlier in her career Peter Moody making statements like, "There are plenty of planes coming to Australia," and "They know where we are," when the inevitable questions about her racing overseas were asked. It seemed Moody wasn’t interested in having to "prove" Black Caviar in England.
Moody has since been on record as saying English sprinters are "B-graders" and that Black Caviar is much superior to any previous Australian sprinters who have had success at Royal Ascot.
So why travel Black Caviar around the other side of the world to prove what everyone already knows — and for a fraction of the prizemoney available here in Australia?
To me, Royal Ascot is over-hyped for what the racing actually is. The centrepiece of race week at Royal Ascot is the Ascot Gold Cup – supposedly featuring the world’s best stayers.
Well, consider the record of the Ascot Gold Cup winners in the Melbourne Cup over the last 20 years: Drum Taps – failed, Double Trigger – failed, Yeats – failed. Other notable Ascot Gold Cup runners that failed in the Melbourne Cup include Mamool, Hatha Anna, Distinction, Far Cry, Geordieland and Marienbard. Add to that Oscar Schindler, Quick Ransom, Hug’s Dancer, Grey Shot, Harbour Dues, Faithful Son, Daliapour, Septimus and Profound Beauty — other well-credentialed UK stayers who failed in the Melbourne Cup.
A few of the Gold Cup placegetters have done well — Purple Moon, Vinnie Roe and Persian Punch — but only one, Vintage Crop, has succeeded.
Australian sprinters have a far superior record when they have travelled to Royal Ascot. Choisir, Miss Andretti, Takeover Target and Scenic Blast are all big winners of the King’s Stand Stakes in the last 10 years. Choisir also won the Golden Jubilee Stakes in 2003 — a feat also achieved by Starspangledbanner in 2010. Magnus, Falkirk, Star Witness and Nicconi have all been in the first four placings during the same period.
So I argue with much evidence that the world’s best race week is not Royal Ascot in June but it is right here in Melbourne from derby day to stakes day at Flemington.
Would it not be more beneficial for connections and indeed Black Caviar to set up her late winter/spring campaign in Australia and let Frankel or whoever make the trip to our spring racing carnival if they want to have a crack at her?
I ask Peter Moody, what is the purpose of taking Black Caviar, the world’s best sprinter, to Royal Ascot, a B-grade racing carnival?
Wonthaggi (Vic)