Jockey Luke Nolen says Black Caviar is ready to take on the world.
He said the champion mare had matured and was coping with the most demanding campaign of her career as she prepares for her 19th win in Saturday’s Lightning Stakes at Flemington.
“She is probably fully developed now and being such a hulking mare probably needed that last couple of years almost to furnish completely,” Nolen said.
“She is so big and strong she could do so much damage to herself when she let rip but a lot of those things are behind her now.
“She been well managed at home and been placed well while having unbelievable ability.”
Nolen said trainer Peter Moody had been protective of Black Caviar as she posted win after win and as a result she didn’t complete planned missions at her last two campaigns when she missed the Doomben 10,000 in May and Perth’s Winterbottom Stakes in November.
“She only had the three runs last spring but she went to paddock well and let down nicely in the paddock as a result,” Nolen said.
“She is as mature now as she is ever going to be, and Peter always thought her five-year-old year was going to be her best.
“I think she is ready (for overseas) now. She has done everything right to date and probably warrants her chance to show her wares to the rest of the world.”
Black Caviar’s longest campaign was last autumn when she had five runs which included a five-week interval from her fourth run to the BTC Cup in Brisbane.
The heat has been tuned up this campaign and if she competes, as planned, in next week’s Futurity Stakes after the Lightning it will mean four runs in just over five weeks.
The Lightning is the doorway to the world for Black Caviar and the first of 10 races in the Global Sprint Challenge series.
The winner of any three races earns a $1 million bonus which Black Caviar can collect if she wins the Lightning, Dubai’s Golden Shaheen at the end of March and the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot in June.
But Nolen isn’t confirming any international plans just yet.
“I am a glass half-empty man,” Nolen said.
“We have a fair bit of water to get under the bridge before then.”
He said Moody would make the call on an international campaign and that Black Caviar would need to be 100 per cent to leave Australian shores.
“At this stage we are gearing her preparation towards maybe one, two or three runs overseas but as soon as she tells us she is not coping with the travel or the work anymore we will pull the pin on her,” Nolen said.
AAP TURF
