Getting Black Caviar to race once in England amounted to the biggest coup in world racing last year.
A return appearance would be a reward for the perseverance of Royal Ascot’s international thoroughbred scout, Nick Smith.
Talk of another Royal Ascot campaign for Black Caviar emerged after she made it 24 wins from as many starts in the William Reid Stakes, and no-one is entitled to be more excited than Smith.
Black Caviar is the drawcard racehorse on top of every administrator’s wish list and Smith said English racing fans were privileged to see her race and win the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, even if she wasn’t at her usual level of excellence.
While he knows it might be asking too much for her to come back, he can only hope discussions go to another level when connections sit down to plot the next stage of career over the next few days.
“It was brilliant to have her here last year and we would completely understand if they didn’t want to do it twice,” Smith told AAP during a flying visit to Australia last month.
“But then again, maybe they will say ‘she’s so good, she’s in such great form why don’t we go over there and smash them to pieces’.”
If she goes back to England it will be for the King’s Stand over 1000 metres rather than the 1200 of the Diamond Jubilee before a possible date in the breeding barn with Frankel.
Smith’s recent global recruitment tour was timed to watch Black Caviar return to racing in the Lightning Stakes at Flemington.
The weight-for-age race has been the source of subsequent Royal Ascot runners but this year’s result only confirmed Black Caviar at the top of Smith’s list.
“The Lightning was hard to assess this year because it was blown apart by Black Caviar whereas normally it announces three or four possibilities for Royal Ascot,” he said.
“This year it was all about one horse.”
After Black Caviar looked in such magnificent order again at Moonee Valley on Friday night, Smith might be growing in confidence he could be describing the 2013 Royal Ascot festival in the same way.
