Get the feeling we could get a real decent Cox Plate this year

But do you not find it boring? That's my question- each race is a foregone conclusion, a penalty kick- the only reason she faces new horses is as new ones come in and the old ones retire. Its not because shes being challenged to race them like frankel was when he stepped up. the only time shes deliberately been taken to race other horses was coming to england. Peter moody says "We've always thought she'd strongly handle 1600m [a mile] even if not a mile and a quarter," do why not find out? Does it also not worry you that shes in her 4th season of racing in open races and nothing has challenged her? She's 6 by your time, 7 by ours, there should be another horse in Australia 'land of the sprinters' able to challenge.

She's not an everyday 'great' sprinter though Ubar. If she was, something would have come along and challenged her by now. She's a 'once in a (insert how ever many years you want)' horse.

I do agree with you that her races are foregone conclusions but that's not why I watch Black Caviar races. I watch them to see her. If you find it boring to see her race that's your opinion. I'll take as much excitement from watching the other races on the card as I will seeing her go round in a 'procession'.

I enjoyed watching Guelph (who I had a decent bet on) rundown the short priced fav to win the Sires as much as I did watching BC.

Moody can say she'll get a mile all day/night/week/month/year, the owners won't let him do it.

I'll tell you why you should be worried. Because below from where I can see it there is no clear pecking order. This is what normally happens with a bunch of horses- a pecking order develops. Take frankels generation- there was CDA just below him, then excelebration and danesream and nathaniel, then snow fairy, st nic etc. but with last years European 3yos, it was a mess. Apart from Camelot, there was no standout. You might say this shows Camelot to be a superhorse, but no, he is the cream rising to the top of a muddy puddle. What normally happens with three year olds is several rise to the top and establish a pecking order between themselves, and below them is normally also a pecking order. But in camelots year, he is the only one to have stood out, yet he is no more than an average 3 to champion, and below him it is a mess, and this is what showed it to be a bad crop. I don't profess to know toonmuch about the australian sprinting scene, but as far as I can see there is no standout group of sprinters below black caviar that share the places behind her around, there's just a mess of horses, and this is why I'd worry.

That's the nature of sprint races though. It doesn't take much for you to go from 2nd to 7th. Whereas over longer distances horses have more time to settle and you (generally) see a more orderly run race. Therefore its easier to distinguish your pecking order. 18months ago there was a pecking for our sprinter, it was Caviar then Hay List then Buffering, and that was when they were all at their peak.

I've seen quite a few of her races and each one is a thing of beauty. From the hype before the race to the clamor in the post parade to the race itself and finally the exultation of watching such a incredible horse run.

Experienced the same thing here with Zenyatta. She made it a little harder though because she always gave the others a head start. The whole carnival atmosphere around every race made you feel that that was what it was like in the olden days when racing was the top draw.

Europeans just had the exact same thing with Frankel. Stop focusing on who she's beating and enjoy the moment. You may never see it again.

the difference is that BC makes g1 winning opponents look like the donkeys that give kids rides on blackpool pleasure beach
yet those said horses have gone abroad and won g1s including here Ubar

She is different class to anything

& if people find that boring & they can't appreciate her greatness then thats up 2 them but just don't understand it

BC ALL CLASS

exactly

Ortensia is the only one to have actually won here. I actually found zenyatta exciting what I saw of her, because you never quite knew. The thing is though, if its about just admiring her run, why not just watch her do lots of track workouts again and again. She's not proving anything by beating these horses, imagine how much more exciting it would be and how much more interest it would generate if black caviar were to race her brother over a mile? There'd be a lot more build up and it would have more of a 'race' feel to it as well. I loved watching frankel run, but I alo liked the fact that there might have been a possibility of a race before it began, which is why the Sussex stakes where it was almost a foregone conclusion is the race that I anticipated the least. The three most exciting races of his career were the Sussex and his final 2, where they were different and there was a tenser build up.

I'm surprised Bart Cummings hasn't beat Black Caviar. One thing I learned from betting on Australian races is Bart Cummings is god. Especially in the big races. Love his calm matter of fact answers during post race interviews.

While I'm going on about Australian racing I wanted to mention Stathis Katsidas. I was shocked when I heard he died. I watched him race I think at Sunshine Coast or one of those tracks he rode regularly at in a couple run of the mill races. He rode some of the most beautiful rides I've ever seen a jockey ride. Probably the best I've ever seen. He was winning everything he rode. RIP

last time i checked so you think was his last g1 winner 3 years ago
but yes he an all time great and could end up the most successful G1 trainer ever but then again APOB is catching him and TJ smith fast

The one jockey I wish I'd been around to see was george Woolf.

265 ATC Flight Stakes Norzita
266 Vinery Stud Stakes Norzita

UPDATE Top G1 Winning Trainers in history
1 T.J.SMITH (AUS) 279
2 BART CUMMINGS (AUS) 266*
3 A.P.O'BRIEN (IRE) 211*

I know this will no doubt offend you Paul, but I personally don't feel AOB can ever be regarded a great trainer in the same way as Vincent O'brien or Henry Cecil. The stats he has achieved are down to the sheer amount of ammunition he has been fed over the years, and to my mind had nowhere near the skill of other truly great trainers- I believe his method of training, survival of the fittest, working them really hard, takes away some of the horses class, as with SYT, so that he gets good tough horses, but never any greats. Take Montjeu, who was Coolmore's highest rated horse , but he was trained by John Hammond. IMO he would have ruined Frankel. Also the G1 chart has to be taken with a pinch of salt as places like Australia have a much greater number of g1s.