Leading trainer Peter Moody is not looking beyond Saturday’s Group One C F Orr Stakes at Caulfield for Black Caviar despite the huge amount of speculation about her upcoming overseas campaign.
Moody had a meeting with the owners of the unbeaten mare in Melbourne on Friday after which managing owner Neil Werrett confirmed a trip to Dubai dominated discussions.
“Dubai is the highest on the priority list now,” Werrett told The Age but added the trip would only be undertaken if it did not interfere with the number one stable goal of a win at Royal Ascot in England.
Moody told AAP no decisions had been made beyond the Orr as he was taking it one race at a time.
At Caulfield on Saturday, Moody said if Black Caviar went to Dubai it would be a direct flight from Australia and then a direct flight to London.
But a flight straight to London was a “two stop-over 33 hour trip and it’s very taxing on horses”,” he said.
“The big negative against Dubai is she’s going to be away from home for three or four months.
“She’s going to be away from me, the jockeys, the staff, the vet, the farrier, the chiropractor.
“She’s going to have access to those facilities over there but it’s going to be a different scenario.
“She’s a mare that takes a fair bit of maintenance so that’s a big negative and there are a lot of great races here.”
The world’s best sprinter worked on the course proper at Caulfield on Saturday morning ahead of her shot at her 18th straight win at her first attempt at the 1400m trip in next Saturday’s Group One C F Orr Stakes on her home track.
“She had a canter around on the course proper. She worked nice,” Moody said.
AAP TURF
