Just when everyone thought they’d seen everything Black Caviar had to offer, she produced a new trick – a striptease.
On the eve of her departure for England the champion mare appeared for her farewell media call at her Caulfield stable decked out in a slinky, clinging lycra number with her racing name on one shoulder and her stable name, Nelly, on the other.
She strutted up and down, drew some whistles from her audience and then, with a little help, stripped down to bare, rippling fresh.
Her trainer Peter Moody explained he’d got the idea of the lycra compression suit from rival trainer John McNair and with some help from world champion hurdler Sally Pearson had one made to help Black Caviar stay as comfortable as possible on her 30-hour trip to England.
“She’s quite susceptible to soft tissue injuries, muscle tears,” Moody said.
“I thought if it’s good enough for Sally Pearson, it’s good enough for Black Caviar.”
Black Caviar leaves Melbourne on Wednesday for a trip that is set to produce her 22nd win from as many starts in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 23.
It will be the first plane trip for the mare and Moody and her owners regard the flight as the most nerve-wracking part of the exercise.
“It should be alright, actually flying is better than being in a truck for a horse,” Moody said.
Just in case, though, Black Caviar will be accompanied by a vet and two attendants on the flight that has stopovers in Singapore and Sharjah.
Moody said he had his world champion in the best condition of her career.
“She is as fit as I’ve had her at this stage of a preparation,” he said.
“I don’t want to have to train her for the next two weeks.
“She’ll just go out on the gallops, there’ll be no need to do anything major with her.”
Black Caviar is the world’s No.1 mare and the highest-rated sprinter – and Moody fully expects her to retain those titles in the Diamond Jubilee.
“The facts and figures tell you there’s not a horse out there who can beat her,” he said.
In England they agree.
Black Caviar is a 1-2 favourite to win the Diamond Jubilee which will be shown live at a street party at Federation Square in Melbourne’s city centre.
