Undefeated Thoroughbred Champion Black Caviar Conquers Australian Racing; Is North America Next?

The biggest story on the international racing scene for more than a year has been the exploits of Australia's latest “super horse,” Black Caviar. The undefeated mare has 19 wins and counting, almost all against top-flight competition, and is now being pointed to an international campaign that could include trips to Dubai for the rich Dubai World Cup program in late March and to England for its prestigious Royal Ascot meeting this summer. Black Caviar continues the recent trend of female racehorses dominating the racing landscape. In the United States, the Horse of the Year award has been won by a filly or mare each of the past three seasons, which is an unprecedented accomplishment. Included in that group is Zenyatta, the 2010 Horse of the Year, who was the winner of 19 consecutive races in her own right. Book-ending Zenyatta's Horse of the Year season were the filly Rachel Alexandra in 2009 and the mare Havre de Grace in 2011. Black Caviar has evolved into perhaps the world's fastest sprinter on grass, according to experts. In fact, the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings affirmed the claim in 2010 when it rated Black Caviar as the world's champion sprinter. While opinions are nice, hopefully the case will be settled on the track later this year when Black Caviar ventures outside of horse racing in Australia. A daughter of the Royal Academy stallion Bel Esprit, Black Caviar quickly proved her ability as a 2-year-old, but a chest injury limited her to just five starts through her 3-year-old season. As an older horse, however, Black Caviar has proven herself to be durable as well as talented. Black Caviar has reeled off an additional 14 wins during her 4- and 5-year old seasons, all of which have come at the Group 1 or Group 2 level. To further illustrate her sturdiness, Black Caviar followed up a win in the Group 2 Australia Stakes this past Jan. 27 with wins in the Group 1 CF Orr Stakes on Feb. 11 and the Group 1 Lightning Stakes a mere seven days later. Black Caviar is trained by Peter Moody, one of Australia's leading conditioners. After her win in the Lightning Stakes, Moody indicated a trip to England and a potential tussle with the undefeated Frankel, who many consider the actual best horse in the world, could be in the cards. Fans in England are already salivating at the thought of Black Caviar and Frankel potentially squaring off in front of the Queen Mother at Royal Ascot. First up, however, may be the $2 million Golden Shaheen in Dubai on March 31 for Black Caviar. If that's the case, it would be her first try on anything other than turf. The Golden Shaheen is run on Meydan Race Course's main track, which features a synthetic surface. A win in the Golden Shaheen and Black Caviar would surpass Zenyatta's world record for consecutive wins at racing's highest level. Other horses, including U.S.-based Rapid Redux who is still in training, have won more consecutive races, but not at the top-class level like Black Caviar and Zenyatta.