Can Peter Moody trained Black Caviar really go from national popularity to global fame?
A statement from the Australian racing icon’s handler, Peter Moody, have caught some by surprise, and has left others awestruck. His first comment after landing on the Northern Hemisphere was:
"It is strange," he said, "that we have to travel three-quarters of the way around the world to race inferior opposition for inferior prize money so she can stamp her greatness."
For the record, the participation was never imposed, as at the end of the day it was the connections’ decision to give her a chance to ‘stamp her greatness’.
As far as the prize money goes, Black Caviar has never won outrageously high cheques, as only five out of her twenty-one races carried more than £283,000 for the winner.
Peter Moody needs get a grip on the overboard attitude that refuses to get settled. Following is something that he needs to read and reconsider what he said.
‘This ship is unsinkable, even God Himself can’t sink it!’ screamed the newspaper headlines just before the Titanic sailed off on its maiden voyage.
And guess what, the ship did sink. His six-year-old mare is standing at a point where she has far more to lose than to achieve, and at least that should make him realize the gravity of the situation.
It is almost as if he has done the world a favour by bringing down, Black Caviar, to the Royal Ascot.
Who exactly is to gain from it, the race course, the Queen, the rivals competing? No, it is the trainer and the connections only.
Racing at the Royal Ascot is an honour in itself, and winning there is no less than a landmark achievement for the horse. Getting recognised and nailing her grandeur all goes in the favour of the trainer and no one else.
People wait for years to attend, and more to win at the Royal Ascot. The least Peter Moody can do is to stop complaining. Of all the things he should be thanking his lucky stars that his mare is all good after travelling such a long distance.
She is no doubt the second highest rated racing thoroughbred in the world, but the claims that she is ‘the fastest horse in the history’ does not ring true to the ears any way round.
Beating the same level of competition under the same circumstances makes one doubt the quality of success that the trainer keeps on ranting about.
It is due to the Royal Ascot that not only thousands in Australia, but millions throughout the world will watch her when she will race the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.
Eighty-thousand of them is just the crowd expected at the Ascot itself, what amount will it reach worldwide? can only be estimated.
"There's a line of thought that we should put them to the sword and do a Frankel [who won by 11 lengths]," Moody said on Friday, "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."
Who is helping out who here does not need to be debated any further..
The mare has earned it to get where she is today, but the attitude of the trainer unfortunately fails to even match that of a horse’s.
Horse racing is a sport where not even a team (as in case of other sports) but a single horse that too in a bit more than a minute wins, and the entire line-up is left for a ‘better luck next time’, thus including countries and continents in it is senseless.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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