Black Caviar to strike again in Lightning

The chances of seeing Black Caviar at Flemington this weekend have increased with trainer Peter Moody more than happy with the mare’s recovery from her Orr Stakes win last Saturday.

Moody is closer to making a decision if Black Caviar will attempt to stretch her winning sequence to nineteen in the Group 1 $750,000 Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington to equal Gloaming and Desert Gold‘s winning record.

The Caulfield trainer sent his champion mare for a swim and a canter yesterday morning and said that she is in fine order after trouncing her rivals in the Group 1 $400,000 C.F. Orr Stakes at Caulfield.

“She has pulled up terrific and I am really happy with her. She had a nice little gallop here this morning and then a swim in the pool and she looks great.”

“I’ll probably make a decision tomorrow morning if she continues to please,” Moody said yesterday.

If Moody decides to start Black Caviar in the Lightning it will be the first time that he has asked her to back up week to week.

“She’ll take that in her stride, no worries,” he said. “Running in the Lightning is something I have had in the back of my head for some time, although I didn’t make that public.”

Black Caviar will be dropping back from 1400m of the Orr Stakes to 1000m of the Lightning and although this is not the normal distance progression of a campaign, Moody said that she hardly exerted herself on Saturday.

Whatever Moody and connections decide for their champ this week, she will line up in the Group 1 $500,000 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 25 and Moody is very confident if she had to back up three weeks in a row it would not be a problem.

”She pulled up better yesterday than she has for a long time,” Moody said. ”She had it so soft in the Orr, they ran one minute 24 and a bit. If they’d run 1.21 I wouldn’t even be contemplating running in the Lightning.

”She did more getting ready on Saturday morning, trotting and cantering, than she did in the race. I’ll nominate for the Lightning, and decide whether she runs or stays home.”

Moody said after the Orr win that he would have to give Black Caviar a good gallop this Saturday morning so he thought he may as well run her in the Lightning and if the mighty mare won, it would give her a chance of making it win number twenty in the Futurity before she heads overseas.

About The Author

Mark Mazzaglia

Mark is a passionate journalist with a life-time involvement in the racing industry. He spent many years as an analyst and form expert at the Courier Mail and also has hands-on experience working with some of Queensland’s top trainers.