Black Caviar will be following a path now well trodden by Australian sprinters when she competes in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the final day of Royal Ascot.
The unwavering faith that Black Caviar will not be beaten is given further strength when you look at the recent record of her compatriots who have made the gruelling journey.
The horse that started the Antipodean-Royal Ascot adventure was the Paul Perry-trained Choisir in 2003.
Despite being a Group One-winning sprinter in his homeland, the strongly-built chestnut was allowed to go off at 25-1 for the King’s Stand Stakes on the opening day of the Royal meeting.
While that price may seem astonishing with hindsight, he was at the time attempting something unprecedented as no Australian raider had ever struck gold at Britain’s summer showpiece meeting.
He duly won in the hands of top Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh before completing a remarkable double in the Golden Jubilee (now Diamond Jubilee) Stakes just five days later.
“He was a great horse,” Murtagh said.
“He wouldn’t be that price if he was running this year, but people know more about the Australian sprinters now than they did then.
“I don’t think Black Caviar is going to be 25-1!”
Three years after Choisir, the incredible Takeover Target was the next Australian to strike gold.
Trained by former taxi driver Joe Janiak, the cheaply purchased gelding became one of the world’s most popular racehorses.
He won the King’s Stand in 2006 and was third in the same year’s Golden Jubilee.
A year later he was fourth and second in the two major sprints and 12 months after that he returned to finish second and fourth.
Miss Andretti ran away with the King’s Stand in 2007, but disappointed on the Saturday, while Scenic Blast was the last Aussie to win, landing the King’s Stand in 2009.
Since his retirement, Choisir has gone on to prove a big hit in the breeding shed.
Perhaps his best offspring to date is Starspangledbanner, a horse who struck at the highest level in Australia before joining Aidan O’Brien and landing the Golden Jubilee and the July Cup in 2010, with Murtagh in the saddle on both occasions.
“Choisir’s done well as a stallion and breeds horses very much like himself – strong and tough,” said Murtagh.
“Starspangledbanner was a lot like him and he was very impressive at Ascot.”
Murtagh is impressed by what he has seen of Black Caviar, but believes Royal Ascot could prove her toughest test to date.
“Everything she has done in Australia has been phenomenal,” he said.
“The one thing I would say is that every race she runs in seems to be the same and it sometimes looks like the other jockeys just ride their horses to finish second.
“It will be a different test for her at Ascot, so you never know what might happen.”
