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Black Caviar has achieved the rare feat of making the Australian public take an interest in racing outside of the Spring Carnival.
Read: Why was Black Caviar retired?
Evidence of this can be found online – she has over 20,000 fans on Facebook and over 12,000 followers on Twitter.
However, while many people have heard of Black Caviar and know that she’s a racehorse; that’s most of what they know.
If this is you, read on for a crash course on all things Black Caviar:
Why all the hype?
Black Caviar is Australia’s most successful racehorses ever. She has been in 21 races and won them all. This is not just a record for Australia but for anywhere in the world.
To put this in context, the most consecutive races won by another Australian horse is 9. Though Black Caviar may never match the mythical status of Phar Lap, in terms of hard statistics, she has already surpassed him.
Why is she called Black Caviar?
One of the owners, Pam Hawkes (a Mornington Peninsular potato farmer), had a particular penchant for caviar and named her accordingly. The connection extends to Black Caviar’s colours which are black spots (representing caviar) on salmon.
Where is Black Caviar from?
She is a fully-fledged Victorian. Both of her parents were Victorian, she was born and bred in Victoria, all three of her jockeys are Victorian, her trainer is Victorian and the majority of her owners are Victorian.
She was sired by Bel Esprit, winner of the Doomben 10,000 sprint, out of Helsinge who was unraced and by Desert Sun (GB). Black Caviar is the first foal for Helsinge.
Why is Black Caviar in the UK?
Put simply, there are no horses left in Australia for her to race against. She has beaten all other Australian sprinters of note and has done so easily.
The owners have taken her overseas to seek out more competition. She races on Sunday (00:45 AEST) in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Ascot Racecourse and is a short-priced favourite to win again. (Eds note: The Roar will be live blogging the event)
Will Black Caviar ever win the Melbourne Cup?
No. Black Caviar is a sprinter and typically runs races that are up to 1,200 metres. The Melbourne Cup is 3,200 metres and so is well outside of her range.
Expecting Black Caviar to win the Melbourne Cup would be like expecting Usain Bolt to win the Olympic Marathon – it’s just not going to happen. She’s a sprinter, not a marathoner.
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