Champion mare Black Caviar won’t run in the Group One Doomben 10,000 on Saturday week.
Trainer Peter Moody confirmed he spoke with Black Caviar’s owners after inspecting the wonder mare at her Eagle Farm stable in Brisbane on Thursday before deciding to spell her.
“There’s nothing wrong with her. She’s just come to the end of her campaign,” Moody said.
Moody is yet to decide a starting point for her spring campaign in Melbourne and whether she’ll head overseas to Hong Kong in December.
“I haven’t decided anything yet,” he said.
“All we’ve decided is she’ll go for a spell and come back for the spring in Melbourne.”
Black Caviar, the world’s best sprinter, took her unbeaten record to 13 when she claimed the Group One BTC Cup (1200m) at Doomben last Saturday.
Another win will take her to a mark also achieved by the mighty Phar Lap.
Her BTC Cup victory was her sixth straight Group One triumph this season and another win at elite level in the Doomben 10,000 would have placed her second on the all-time list of Australian horses to score multiple Group One wins in a single season.
Tulloch set the bar as three-year-old in 1957-58 with 10 Group Ones while Kingston Town and Weekend Hussler with six each also set the benchmark in the modern era.
The decision not to contest the Doomben 10,000 will rob the Brisbane Racing Club of its major drawcard but it still has a worthy back-up in Hay List.
Hay List’s trainer John McNair was planning to give his star sprinter an exhibition gallop between races at Doomben on Saturday.
“I probably won’t do that now but I’ll have a look at him in the morning before I decide if I need to gallop him or not at Doomben,” McNair said.
“I don’t want to push buttons I don’t have to.
“Glyn Schofield was going to fly up on Saturday to ride him in the gallop and then go back to Sydney to ride.”
Hay List has been on the losing end four times against Black Caviar.
Black Caviar’s withdrawal from the Doomben 10,000 will cause a major market reshuffle for the 1350-metre sprint with Hay List now certain to be a clear favourite.
AAP TURF
