After much debate and speculation future racing plans for Australia’s glamour mare Black Caviar were today confirmed by her master trainer Peter Moody at a media conference with the superstar immediately retired from racing.
Australia's pin-up mare Black Caviar has officially been retired from racing. Photo: Steve Hart.
An emotional Moody was joined by the superlative six-year-olds’ owners at his Caulfield stables at 3pm (AEST) this afternoon to make the highly anticipated announcement following Black Caviar’s incredible 25th consecutive career win in the TJ Smith Stakes in Sydney last weekend which turned out to be her swansong race.
“Today we wanted to announce that she’s retiring,” part-owner Neil Werrett said at the conference.
“I’d just like to thank the Australian public for supporting us and supporting Black Caviar and supporting Moody racing.
“Sorry!”
Having pulled through her TJ Smith Stakes win, which saw her surpass Kingston Town’s long-standing record of 14 Australian Group 1 victories, in excellent order the retirement decision by Moody and co. came as a surprise to her legion of fans the world over.
Bowing out with a flawless 25 from 25 record the daughter of Bel Esprit amassed $7,953,936 in prize money over her brilliant career, an amazing achievement for the $210,000 yearling.
Making the announcement with a mixture of sadness and relief Moody admitted that it was a hard decision to make but ultimately the one that was best for the horse that has put them all on the ride of their lives.
“The owners and myself had a long hard chat the past couple of days and decided today at lunch time 25 (wins) was a great number,” he said.
“She did us all proud.
“Collectively we’ve decided the mare’s in great shape.
“She’s probably never looked better in her career.”
There was talks of Black Caviar racing on for another season or two before her retirement with a number of next-up options considered but the decision to send her out on a high has assured she will forever go down as the undefeated queen.
“We thought about Ascot, we thought about Brisbane, we thought about Adelaide but we believe she’s done everything we’ve asked her to do,” Moody said.
“It was the right time to call it a day in what’s been a wonderful career by arguably one of the best horses we’ve ever seen.
“We always wanted to make sure she was going to be alright.
“I just thought job done.
“We thought what else can we achiever. We don’t want to do anything wrong by the horse.
“She’s been a great shining light for this industry.”
Moody also confirmed Black Caviar would be on show at Caulfield this Saturday for a farewell appearance before heading off for a well-earned break ahead of her new career as a broodmare in Australia.
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