MOODY OPEN AND INFORMATIVE AS HE TALKS ABOUT HIS CHAMPION, BLACK CAVIAR
By Graham Potter | Saturday, May 14, 2011
In the twelve minutes that his interview lasted with the media at an official press conference at Eagle Farm on Thursday morning, trainer Peter Moody gave some fascinating insight into his life with the champion mare Black Caviar. His answers to questions were filled with informative content and his views will be of interest to racing enthusiasts of any description. This is Peter Moody talking about Black Caviar.
“She’s loving it up here. The weather’s fantastic. She certainly has enjoyed her time here.
“She just found her feet last week. This week she certainly settled in well. I just noticed the difference between Saturday and yesterday afternoon, when I got back here, how her coat had turned. It looked a lot brighter. She is in very good shape.
“I’ve got a theory on travelling. You go at the last minute and don’t give them a chance to get unsettled or you give them a couple of weeks and let them settle in. So the first week was doing that. Then we got to do a bit of work with her on Saturday. Then again on Tuesday and that’s really brought her on.
“The way she’ll run her race is up to Luke Nolen. I wouldn’t think we’ll let Hay List get away. I wouldn’t like to see him four in front at the furlong at Doomben, but I’ll leave that up to Luke. He knows what she is capable of.
“I’d certainly be heart in mouth. I don’t need to go through what happened at Randwick again when he was four in front, but the fact she was three in front on the line very quickly sort of allayed most of our fears.
“I wouldn’t say she has improved off that, but she has certainly held her form coming into Saturday.
“Because she races in a barrier blanket she always comes out of the gates a neck behind them.
“As a young horse she used to have that bit of a bull at the gate attitude. She used to try and anticipate the start and begin too quick for her own good and slip over.
“We found with the barrier blanket, as you’ll see with most horses that race in barrier blankets, they miss the kick a bit. They are a little bit more hesitant and we found that to be a benefit for her because she doesn’t try and begin that quick and fall A over T.
“I think Hay List and Buffering are the only two other speed horses in the race, so, you’ve got three very good jockeys … they’ll work it out to give themselves all the chance I would imagine.
“I’ve got no doubt if Luke wanted to lead, he’d just lead. You know, she has shown there is not another horse in the world as fast as her.
“If you saw her up the straight at Flemington in the Lightning and the Newmarket she can run ten-and-a-half on the bridle. There’s not too many other horses that can do that.
“They might be in front of her for twenty yards out of the gate, but if Luke wants to press the ‘go’ button he’ll go wherever he wants. A horse of her physical bulk usually enables him to put her wherever he wants.
“But I’ll just leave that up to Luke. If the others want to roll forward, he’ll sit off them. If they sit off her … you know, Luke will have her where he wants to be.
“She had her last good gallop on Saturday. On Tuesday morning she just had another sort of familiarization with Doomben. Luke said she had a good look around again.
“Her work has been pretty light since then. She just did a little pace-work here on the dirt. She went for a swim down at Nudgee on Wednesday afternoon … just for a wade, not a swim. She’ll be pretty relaxed about it all heading for Saturday.
“It’s been an amazing journey the whole way through with this horse.
“Initially, in Melbourne, it was the racing public that were probably pretty much taken by her early on and your professional form students and punters alike.
“I had people after her second or third start telling me this could be anything.
“The public perception outside racing has really grown this campaign. Initially in Melbourne for the Lightning and the Newmarket and then the William Reid.
“Then to Sydney. I was quite overwhelmed, you know, because there is always that little bit … whether it is Victoria and New South Wales or New South Wales and Queensland … there’s always that bit of interstate rivalry and they are probably not paid their due respects when they travel over the border, but I was amazed the people that came from all over New South Wales to see the horse.
“There were shearers from Broken Hill who had come in just to have a look at this wonder-horse and it’s been much the same up here.
“You could run a queue from Eagle Farm to Nudgee Beach with people who want to give her a pat or take her photo.
“So much so, as I think you might have heard, a lady spotted us driving down the road yesterday and followed us to Nudgee Beach just on the off chance that Black Caviar was on the horse-float.
“I think she wet herself three times when she realized it was. She rolled up her slacks … she’d just come out of the office … and followed us out into the water just so she could have a look at the horse. It’s been quite overwhelming.
“Having said that, we make sure the horse has plenty of down time. She is no different to any other athlete, whether it is football or genuine athletics or anything.
“We’ve got to make sure she has her down time and we are fortunate enough with the arrangements the Brisbane race-club and Bill Shuck has made here for us. The stabling has been great here in the middle of Eagle Farm. That keeps people away from her because, as you can imagine, everyone wants their little bit of her.
“We feel an obligation to racing to showcase her to the general public because she is great for our sport, but, at the same time, people have got to respect that she is a horse and that she needs to relax.
“That’s why we do mornings like this where everyone can have a look at her, but, unfortunately, there will be five or six people ringing me this afternoon … and another three or four tomorrow morning who will want to do something because they weren’t switched on enough to be here this morning.
“The answer to them will be a short, sharp ‘no’! I think we have tried to, like I say, put her out there in front of everyone so we can all enjoy her, but we’ve got to let her be a horse at the end of the day.
“For me, it’s just an honour to be alongside her. It’s not a dream come true … it’s beyond a dream, you know, just to be associated with her. She is one helluva horse. She makes my job easy.
“There’s not a lot of rocket science. I just try and take her to the races in the best health I can, which is just purely a common-sense approach.
“A horse with her ability … she does the rest and makes me look pretty good.
“I’ve been asked about the Stradbroke. We did nominate her. Never say never, but I suppose we’ll learn a lot on the handicaps. When she won the Newmarket I suggested that was probably the last handicap run of her life.
“The six races we planned culminate in the Cup here on Saturday and then the Doomben 10 000. So I would highly doubt we’d go beyond that, but we did nominate her to keep that option open and then, of course, you’ve got the Winter Stakes the following week which would probably be a more realistic option for her than the Stradbroke if she did go beyond the 10 000.
“I think you are going to see a couple of pretty smart horses on Saturday. Hay List, I think, is a superstar. Buffering is a three-year-old on the rise that’s taken all before him.
“I think out of the eight runners in the Cup there are seven or six Group 1 winner’s in the race and Buffering is a multiple Group 2 winner that probably hasn’t had as many opportunities.
“But she’s already met some good horses and defeated them. Crystal Lily was a Golden Slipper winner. The day that really shocked me was at Moonee Valley … the day she beat Melito and Hot Danish.
“She beat then comprehensively and that amazed me. They are two great mares. They are in the More Joyous mould and she didn’t beat them … she beat them out of sight.
“That sort of suggested to me that we were in for a great ride.
“The More Joyous story ... Singo rang up and wanted a million dollar match-race and I said it wouldn’t be fair on him until he found a faster horse. We’ll leave it at that but, listen, More Joyous is one helluva horse
“I think you are going to see some very good racing here on Saturday. I’m just fortunate that she’s the star here on Saturday and I hope she still is on Sunday morning.
“I think she has got more improvement ahead of her. She’s still got a bit of growth and development ahead of her.
“This is the first preparation she’s ever had where she has been one hundred percent sound which suggest to me that she can improve off the back of this.
“She’s never had an operation. She has never been operated on ever.
“She had a pin-head bit of bone on her suspensory attachment as a late two-year-old. There was just a bit of lucincy there we could see on X-ray. Hence that was the reason she had at that time, I think, about six months off, but she hasn’t had any surgery done on her ever.
“She is only four. We are the only country in the world that considers them mares at four. In the rest of the world they are considered to be fillies and it is my belief that horses probably grow and develop until they’re at least late four, if not five-year-olds.
“She is very lightly raced. She has had twelve starts. Most four-year-olds you’ll see running around on Saturday would have had thirty starts, so I think she’s got good racing ahead of her.
“While she is in a sound frame of mind and body I think she can continue to improve. I think that improvement could come out of racing beyond 1200m.
“The owners are happy to keep going. If she was an entire she would be rushed off to stud because of the dollars, but she can only have one foal a year. They are a long-time a broodmare.
“Having said that, as I did with Typhoon Tracy this year … I retired her off the back of a Group 1 win … so the day that this mare tells me she’s had enough I wouldn’t hesitate to retire her. Whether that is after Saturday or after her next twenty runs I couldn’t tell you. She’ll tell us.
“Beyond this carnival … going overseas is an option everyone talks about.
“The first possibility would be Hong Kong in December, but I’m pretty parochial. I love Australia. I think we are in the luckiest bloody country in the world.
“Why do we have to go overseas to prove how good we are. They have no more big bucks than us. You know, why would you want to leave this to go somewhere else.
“There are plenty of planes. If people want to see her they can come this way.
“I’ve been to Royal Ascot twice and had my bum kicked twice so I want to go back there and beat them. Whether it is the right thing with this horse … I’m not sure.
“Like I said, the first opportunity would be Hong Kong in December, but by going overseas you lose a lot of opportunity here in Australia.
“There are a lot of good races for her in the Autumn again next year and I really would like to explore her out beyond the sprint distances like the Orr and the Futurity Stakes at 1400m leading right through to the George Ryders’ etc in Sydney up to 1500 and a mile.
“Who knows? I think Manikato ran second in an Australian Cup, so, you know, there are a helluva lot of good racing options for her right here in Australia without having to travel at this point … and they are all worth every bit as much money as overseas.
“We’ll let time tell what happens as we move along. I’m in no rush.”
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