DECISION TIME FOR THE GREAT MARE

By David Clarkson

31/07/2012

Chief Correspondent

She is tough. She is a real trier. She won her first 21 starts with consummate ease. Her stride is phenomenal - 12 strides per 100 metres compared to 15 by her rivals to cover the same distance. She is the undisputed undefeated sprint queen of the world and in the next few days a decision will be taken which may cement her unbeaten record forever into the history of the Australian turf.

Wherever she has raced the crowds have flocked. As soon as she bounds out of the gates the crowd roar builds. By halfway she is in control and the the noise builds to a crescendo. Only at Ascot was there a gasp as those racing behind her, closed the normally widening gap. But the legend remained intact as the Invincible Spirit filly Moonlight Cloud got close to her but the line came in time.

Black Caviar is a modern heroine, with massive followings on her Facebook and twitter pages. Trained by a Queensland bushy and ridden by a laid-back jockey, she is owned by a group of mates who came on the ride of a lifetime just for a bit of fun.

Free from the restrictions of quarantine unbeaten Aussie heroine Black Caviar is back at Peter Moody's Caulfield stables this week, where a number of vets and the chiropractor will have a good look at her to see if there has been any deterioration in the niggling injuries which she has battled over the last two years.

Managing owner Neil Werrett may well lean towards retiring Black Caviar with her great unbeaten cv, going out on her dramatic heartstopping success in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 23. If she is fit enough, Peter Moody would love to continue racing and the Patinack Farm Classic on Novenber 10 would be her probable target. No one involved with the great horse would want to see her race again with problems, which may see her end her career with an anticlimatic defeat in the Spring.

My view is that Black Caviar is better to bow out on a high, unbeaten in all 22 starts.

Looking at the other horses in the picture (left) the form subsequently was not strengthened when Sirius Prospect (orange cap - left) ran 6th in the July Cup behind Ortensia & beaten 11.5 lengths by the winner Mayson. Soul advertised the form however, winning the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.

Her Majesty The Queen has been involved with racing all her life. When she was a princess and married Prince Phillip in 1947, the Aga Khan gave the young couple a chestnut filly by Turkhan out of Hastra. It was her first racehorse which she named Astrakhan. Her first racing colours were scarlet with purple hooped sleeves and a black cap, but when she came to the throne in 1952 she inherited the now famous colours of purple and gold braid with scarlet sleeves and a black cap.

Within a few years she became leading owner in the UK, in 1954 and again in 1957. She is Patron of the Jockey Club. Her best horses were Dunfermline, Aureole, Highclere, Pall Mall and Doutelle. Aureole came close to winning the Epsom Derby just four days after her coronation in 1953. It remains the only one of the five English classics that she hasn't won.

Each morning she reads the Racing Post over breakfast.

Last weekend Queen Elizabeth made her acting debut for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned the tussle between the Australian Tax Office (ATO) and the Tasmanian maths club, lead by Zeljko Ranogajec and David Walsh. "It's a story I haven't told" he said on the Lateline TV show the other night.

I quickly turned the volume up.

Walsh told the ABC interviewer that three years ago he was spending a fortune building the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart and so he turned to his betting partner Ranogajec for ideas on a cash flow fix. They decided to go crazy on the upcoming Melbourne Cup.Ranogajec is very private and spends most of his time now in Europe. The group won more than $44 million betting on US racing over a three-and-a-half year period. The syndicate, which bets on races all over the world, uses computer systems to place huge numbers and varieties of bets just before a race begins, relying on a combination of winning bets and rebates from TABs, particularly in his native Tasmania. Zeljko is understood to be disputing a $900 million tax battle with the Australian Taxation Office.

 They won $16m over the Carnival. So the ATO quite rightly think its big business and not just a day at the races. As the ATO auditor said : "If you turnover $2.4billion and employ 300 people around Australia....I think you're looking at more than a hobby."

As they say in court circles - the case continues. I shall watch this issue with interest.

As part of the 2012 Olympics the three racecourses closest to London – Sandown, Kempton and Epsom – have agreed to take part in a trial, designed as a way of making the sport more accessible not only to overseas visitors but also to younger adults, trialling the side-by-side usage of metric and imperial measures.

Meanwhile, two British courses are to close - Hereford and Folkestone.