Trainer Peter Moody is going into Saturday’s Orr Stakes meeting at Caulfield in a very relaxed mood as his champion mare Black Caviar is heading towards her 18th straight win.
Black Caviar in stepping up to the 1400m of the Group 1 $400,000 Sportingbet C.F. Orr Stakes for the first time in her career but Moody said the extra distance is of no concern to him.
In fact Moody joked that the super star’s biggest worry was that the 1400m start was in close proximity to her stable where she sleeps at night and she could think it was bed time.
“The only worry is the 1400m start is 20m from where she sleeps every night, so we’ll have to keep her awake,” he said yesterday.
Black Caviar will be facing a different category of racehorse on Saturday as she steps out of her sprinting comfort zone of 1200m to face middle distance and staying gallopers.
But Moody has stepped her work up slightly to take on the likes of Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed who returned from a let up to win first up over this course and distance on Australia Day in the Listed Barton Stakes and the West Australian Group 1 winner Playing God.
“She goes out and makes her own luck in her races. She can race forward or back. She can sit off them or be the speed. I don’t harbour any fears there,” Moody said.
As usual, Black Caviar was first out onto Caulfield yesterday morning and Moody said that he has changed her work slightly leading up to Saturday.
“She’s probably just done a bit more evens (working gallop).”
“She finished off her work nicely, ran five (furlongs) in even time. She improved home the three (last 600m), improved home the two (last 400m) and did it nicely,” Moody said after she completed her workout.
Regular rider Luke Nolen was aboard the unbeaten mare in her Tuesday morning gallop and agreed with Moody that she would have no problems with the 1400m.
“She is absolutely first class. She’ll be as effective, if not more, at 1400,” Nolen said.
“I can’t see any reason why anybody should be worried about it. She went for a little spin this morning and she’ll be perfect for Saturday.”
Nolen is also excited at the prospect of riding Black Caviar against the best in the world when she travels overseas, possibly in Dubai next month and onto Royal Ascot and said that he would ride her anywhere.
“She could be going around the backyard pulling a cart and I’d be there with her,” he said.
VRC handicapper Greg Carpenter said that Black Caviar would have to win the Orr Stakes by at least ten lengths to replicate her world sprint rating of 132.
The champion mare is entering a new distance category and her initial rating will depend directly on the quality of the field and if she wins, by how far.
“It will be hard to replicate her sprinting rating. I think she must win by about eight or 10 lengths to get anywhere near 132.”
“It is hard to see Luke Nolen pushing her right out to such a big margin if she is five lengths in front and a certain winner, especially with such a long campaign ahead,” Carpenter said.
