Black Spots – Things you may not know about Black Caviar
Black Spots - did you know:
Unbeaten - 25 starts for 25 wins
24 starts in stakes company for 24 wins
Collected her 20th straight victory in the Robert Sangster Stakes-G1 at Morphetville on 28 April 2012, beating the previous Australasian record of 19 straight wins set by both Desert Gold (1915-1917) and Gloaming (1919-1921) almost 100 years ago.
That 20th victory also broke the modern day international record for the top level of thoroughbred racing set by the brilliant USA-trained mare, Zenyatta, who scored 19 consecutive wins before tasting defeat in her 20th and final start. Black Caviar subsequently made it 21 out of 21 in the Distinctive Homes Goodwood at Morphetville on 12 May.
Her total winning margin is 79.7 Lengths
Born on 18 August 2006 at 5.20am
Black Caviar was bottle fed as a foal
Assigned by Swettenham Stud as Lot 520 at the 2008 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, purchased by Peter Moody for $210,000
Black Caviar’s stable name is Nelly
Black Caviar's height is is 16.2 HH - 5 foot 4.8 inches or 164.6 centimetres
Black Caviar weighs approx 620kg
Broken in by Brett Cavanough at Albury
She is a phenomenon on Twitter, and Facebook, with over 70,000 followers
Her name ws chosed by co-owner Pam Hawkes because Black Caviar's grand dam (grand mother) was Scandinavia, which is the international hub of Black Caviar
Colours of salmon with black dots were designed by co-owner Gary Wilkie's daughter Shannon (these are now trademarked)
She has won in Australia's capital cities - Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide
Black Caviar loves swimming & going to the beach
She has an egg in her feed every day
She always has first use of the Caulfield track for her work
Only once, at her first start, has Black Caviar not started odds-on. She won her debut at $3
Her fastest 200m (one furlong) split is 9.98sec between the 600m & 400m in the 2012 Lightning Stakes (her 19th win). She’s the first horse in Australia to break 10secs for a furlong in an official thoroughbred race, giving her a top speed of 72.14km/h or 45.09mph.
15 of her 25 victories have been in Group 1 races, and she has won over five furlongs (1,000 metres) 6 times, six furlongs (1,200 metres) 18 times and seven furlongs (1,400 metres) once.
Only two horses has come within a length of her at the post, both times Black Caviar was carrying injury. Stablemate Wanted (subsequent Newmarket Hcp winner same track and distance) went within 0.8 lengths at her first start in Group company in the Danehill Stakes-G2 (1200m) at Flemington in September 2009 after she blundered the start and tore muscles in her chest. She raced only once during the next 57 weeks. Group 1 winner Moonlight Cloud also came close to beating Black Caviar the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot.
Black Caviar and Frankel are distant relations on the dam side.
Black Caviar's 21st dam, Prunella (dam of 1804 Epsom Oaks winner Pelisse), is the 18th dam of Frankel.
Luke Nolen has been her jockey in all but three of her races, missing only her first two starts (when she was ridden by 16-year-old apprentice Jarrad Noske) and her first Group 1 victory in the Patinack Farm Classic in November 2010 (when Ben Melham was in the saddle as Nolen was suspended).
Black Caviar's dam - Helsinge was unnamed when purchased by Rick Jamison at the Inglis Easter Broodmare Sale, and was first named Oh Billy Oh before changing name to Helsinge
Her odds of $1.04 in the Patinack Farm Classic was the shortest price in a Group 1 race since Valerius started at $1.03 in the 1961 Chipping Norton Stakes.
Black Caviar is a fully fledged Victorian:
- bred by Rick Jamieson, whose Gilgai Farm is located in Nagambie, VIC
- her sire Bel Esprit stands at Eliza Park, Kerrie VIC
- her dam is by Desert Sun (GB) who also stands at Eliza Park, Kerrie VIC
- she was sold at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale
- she was offered for sale by Swettenham Stud, Nagambie VIC
- she was purchased by Peter Moody who trains at Caulfield, VIC
- she is Super VOBIS qualified (Victorian Owners and Breeders Incentive Scheme)
- she has only raced - and won - on Victorian metropolitan race tracks
- she has her own blog - at www.racingvictoria.net.au
- the majority of her owners live in Victoria
- she has been ridden by 3 Victorian jockey
Her half-sister (by the sire Redoute’s Choice) just sold for 2.6 million Australian dollars at the 2012 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale – a record price for a yearling filly in Australia.
Her half-brother (by the sire Redoute's Choice) sold for $5 million, breaking the previous Australasian record for a horse held by his sister in 2012, at the 2013 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale
Hoofnote:
ALL TIME WINNING STREAKS
19 wins: Desert Gold, Gloaming, Zenyatta (USA), Peppers Pride (USA);
18: Ajax, Eclipse (UK), Karayel (Turkey);
17 wins: Silent Witness (HK);
15 Carbine, Bernborough;
14 Phar Lap Note:
Kincsem (Hungary) holds record at 54 wins
