Unbeaten Bel Esprit 3YO, Black Caviar, now appears to be on the verge of Group One glory following her command performance in the Danehill Stakes-G2 at Flemington on Saturday, September 5th.

   Melbourne’s boom filly and clearly the most exciting contender heading into the Spring Carnival, Black Caviar has a number of options including the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes-G1 (Open Handicap over 1400m) on 19 September, the Manikato Stakes-G1 (WFA over 1200m) on 25 September, or the Thousand Guineas (SW over 1600m) on October 14th.

   If her trainer Peter Moody aims Black Caviar towards the Group 1 Thousand Guineas her opponents will be her own age group and sex.  One would think the preferred ’soft option’ rather than going head to head with the colts in the Group I Caulfield Guineas (1600m) four days earlier.

   Either one could be the stepping stone to a tilt at the WS Cox Plate-G1 (2040m) on 24 October where she would attempt to become the first 3YO filly since the mighty Surround (1976) to win Australasia’s weight for age championship.

   Despite, jumping too quickly and knuckling to the left out of the barriers in the Danehill, Black Caviar soon raced to the lead and she was never headed in the run home.

    Although the winning margin, was three-quarters-of-a-length and wasn’t as substantial as her previous three victories (5 lens, 6 lens [Blue Sapphire-LR] and 3-3/4 lens [Crockett S-LR]), the verdict was never in doubt.

   And adding a chockfull of merit was the standard of opposition, which trainer Peter Moody alluded to post race by stating that stablemate and runnerup, Wanted (Fastnet Rock - Fragmentation by Snippets) was “going as good as any horse in the stable and is a top class colt”.

   For that matter, the efforts of Rarefied (Commands - Subtle by Night Shift) third, Delago Bolt (Delago Brom - Bardego by Barathea) and Tollesprit (Bel Esprit - Tolleranza by Alzao) were all above average. 

   Tollesprit, was backing up for his third run in as many weeks.  He showed some ticker. Rarefied was caught behind tiring horses Point Pain and Grand Harmony.  So he couldn’t get a clear crack at them.  Once he did get clear he responded well.  On the other hand Delago Bolt, was ridden in a negative manner, ensuring he didn’t repeat his bad manners that he displayed at his previous outing in Sydney when he took a ‘left hand turn’.

   Rarefied clearly has a future and his Danehill Stakes run was his first ‘go’ down the famous straight course at Flemington.  He had won the Group 3 Up and Coming Stakes in solid fashion at Randwick two weeks earlier. 

   Tollesprit is another that clearly has a good future and the Danehill Stakes was his first unplaced run in five outings, having run a resounding second in the McNeil Stakes-G3 when resuming at Caulfield the previous Saturday.

   Black Caviar has now raced on four occasions and remains unbeaten.  Raced by a syndicate of owners, the filly has now banked more than $350,000 and has repayed them in full. 

   Moody selected Black Caviar out of the William Inglis Melbourne Premier yearling sale in 2008 where he paid $210,000 for the daughter of Helsinge (by Desert Sun).  Helsinge was unraced, she is however, a three-quarter sister-in-blood to the stakes placed Song of the Sun and a half-sister to the Group I winning sprinter Magnus (by Flying Spur) and Group 2 Schillaci Stakes winner Wilander (by Exceed And Excel) being out of  the Group 2 winning sprinter, Scandinavia (by Snippets).

   Bel Esprit (Royal Academy ex Bespoken by Vain) stands in Victoria at Eliza Park where his fee this spring is listed at $16,500 (inc gst) a massive discount on his 2008 fee of $33,000 (inc gst).

•    Bloodhound pedigree - Black Caviar

Permalink| Sep 6, 2009

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