Moody: Caviar exactly where I want her
The six-year-old has an incredible record of 21 victories from as many starts in her homeland and connections are keen for her to gain recognition on a world stage by bringing her to Britain’s summer showpiece meeting.
Having been fitted with a specially-made compression suit for her gruelling 30-hour plus journey across the globe earlier this month, it is clear nothing has been left to chance and Moody has been thrilled with his pride and joy since his arrival at Newmarket.
The recent rain that has fallen in Berkshire is perhaps not ideal for a mare that has done the majority of winning on a faster surface, but her trainer is not overly concerned.
“They keep saying the straight course drains well and I don’t know if there’ll be too much more rain,” Moody told Australian broadcaster TVN.
“It’s the greatest job in the world being a weather man, you can keep getting it wrong and hold a job. If I did that I’d be out of a job and I wouldn’t have a horse to train.
“We’ve just been mixing it up with her. We went to the Al Bahathri one day and we’ve taken her down town on another.
“It’s not hard to keep her interested in these surroundings (in Newmarket), you can do something different every day and it’s just a matter of equating the workload to what she’d do back home.
“I think she’s exactly where I want her. Fitness levels are good and everything seems right.
“Like any horse, little things can go wrong and you probably worry a little bit more with her, especially because we’re so far from home but it’s all gone to plan thus far. We’ve had the whole team here, they are all familiar hands and we’re all really pleased.”
In some ways the pressure is on long odds-on favourite Black Caviar to produce something special.
The mare is the second highest-rated racehorse on the planet behind Frankel, who blew his opposition away in Tuesday’s Queen Anne Stakes.
Moody clearly has his own feelings about who is the best, but he is not worrying about his mare’s margin of victory, only getting the job done.
“It’s a pity we can’t get Frankel to run again on Saturday, but she’s the focus for the rest of the week now,” said Moody.
“We’ve seen some great racing this week. Watching Frankel on Tuesday was something to behold, I’ll remember it for the rest of my career.
“There’s a line of thought that we should put them to the sword and do a Frankel, but it’s never been about that, we won’t let the hype get into us.
“We’re out there to win, a quarter of an inch will do me, get the cheque and get home.
“The Poms have been putting the Aussies to the sword most of their lives in wars and so on, so I don’t think we need to put her to the sword to help them out.”
Black Caviar has the expectation of an entire nation behind her, and Moody told Radio Sports National’s Racing Ahead podcast: “It’s probably pretty important for the Australian racing industry as a whole and it’s the first time we’ve had a horse rated this high on the world stage.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t think I had some obligation to the Australian racing industry to make sure this works.
“We don’t want to be belittled if our horse gets rolled by a horse rated quite inferior to her.
“Certainly my reputation and my ability to travel a horse is on the line big time here.
“I said to my wife I hope I don’t stuff up.”
