ROB'S SHOUT - NELLIE, THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT. YOU WERE SIMPLY THE BEST!

By Robert Heathcote | Thursday, April 18, 2013

Robert Heathcote is the leading racehorse trainer in Brisbane. 'Rob's Shout' - the personal blog of the multi-premiership and Group 1 winning trainer will appear every Thursday on HRO, workload permitting.

I think Tina Turner best sums up Black Caviar with her 1991 all-time hit, ‘Simply The Best’.

There will be many superlatives used to describe the wonder of the turf who has just been retired. The most suitable description in my opinion is CHAMPION!

The dictionary states that: A champion (from the late Latin campio) is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition.

Black Caviar had 25 contests or challenges in her racing career and she remained unbeaten against the very best this country had to offer and also the best the world had to offer on the international stage at Royal Ascot when she was clearly not at her best but still victorious.

It will no doubt be a question asked for many years to come, “was she the best there has ever been?”

I guess it is impossible to compare racehorse from different eras and also different distances but in my opinion she is the best there has been.

I used to think it was Makybe Diva. He record of three Melbourne Cups and a Cox Plate is stuff legends are made of and may never be repeated … but Black Caviar!!!

It was the seeming ease and disdain with which Black Caviar treated her rivals which has held me in awe during her career and we, the racing public, have at times tended to underestimated the quality of the opposition which she put to the sword on so many occasions.

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I have always been amazed at the fantastic job her trainer has done with her.

Peter Moody has made the right call with her throughout her racing career and I have no doubt Pete and the connections have made the right call here again in bringing down the curtain on her racing career.

The only way she would have been beaten would have been through illness or injury. It’s wonderful we will never get to see that happen now. She deserves to remain unbeaten.

Peter deserves to be classed in the ‘Champion’ category as well not only for his training and management of the great mare but also for the way he has showcased the mare, promoted racing in general and dealt with the media and the endless scrutiny she has brought on his whole operation.

Peter, you are a bloody ripper!

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Yes, I am sad that she has retired but I can also rejoice in the many thrills she has brought us these past few years.

Nothing lasts forever and no more so than matters involved in horse racing but, like many, many others, I will long admire the tremendous talent she was and marvel at the ease with which she went about her craft.

Awesome Power!

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There is however obviously another side to the retirement announcement.

I must admit the news of her retirement did put a spring in my step with the reality that the ‘unbeatable mare’ was not coming to town.

While it is genuinely sad and disappointing for the racing public in Brisbane and the turf club that she will not contest the upcoming Group 1 BTC Cup … on a professional level as a trainer, Black Caviar’s retirement certainly opens up the race and may well give my little star, Buffering, a realistic chance to break his Group 1 maiden status.

It’s quite conceivable also that Black Caviar’s absence may attract trainers and horses who otherwise may not have come had the mare headed this way so there is going to be no easy pickings for Buffering.

The bottom line is that Buffering sure does deserve a major prize after his seconds in the Patinack, the Doomben 10,000 and the Stradbroke!

This might be his opportunity.

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The decision to retire Black Caviar will be a financial blow to the Brisbane Racing Club and they must be careful not to drop their head as they still need to go hard at marketing the upcoming Winter Racing Carnival.

The show goes on!

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This Saturday the racing focus will again be centered on Royal Randwick in Sydney.

It’s Doncaster Day and we have a runner in the famous Randwick mile against 19 opponents which include the ‘champion’ Pierro.

It’s a big occasion, a big field and a big challenge.

Solzhenitsyn has been aimed at this race since his very successful Melbourne Spring carnival.

His first-up run in the Canterbury Stakes was a cracker but then he was only ordinary in the George Ryder on the wet track so we are praying the track comes back to a dead 4 or 5 for the classic on Saturday.

His best distance is the mile. It will be a high pressure race and we plan to ride him a bit conservative so it’s with real excitement that we take our place in the race on Saturday.

I have always maintained the big Russians biggest asset is his strength so this is the type of race he can go well in if, and that’s a big if, he has no bad luck and Brownie can weave some magic.

Got a ticket, got a chance!

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What about another heavy track at Doomben on Wednesday and Saturday at Eagle Farm will be wet again?

Extraordinarily, we have endured 51 rain days in Brisbane in the last 89 days.

That has seen nearly 900mls of rain fall and this has given us four abandoned race meetings in the city and 21 of the other 22 raced on a wet or rain affected track surface!

Only the one good track rating, with 11 on a slow or heavy track and 9 in the dead range in the last three months.

No wonder it’s been a frustrating period and full credit to the track curators all around the state who often get little thanks for the job they do and can cop plenty of criticism.

I reckon its bloody tough being a horse trainer when it’s an extended wet period but, as far as I’m concerned, you can stick the track curator’s job where the sun don’t shine.

That has gotta be a tough gig. Well done fellas during some very trying times!

That’s it for this week.

Nellie, enjoy your retirement. You sure deserve it and thanks for the memories!

Cheers,

Rob

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