Chief Stipe

Uh? You bagged a Jockey at a racecourse you have no interest in punting on. Not only that without any idea what was happening you publically stated you hope he gets a long holiday!! BEFORE you even bothered to look for the stipes report!!

Black Caviar: Her career run by run Ryan Reynolds@Reynolds_R 2:21pm A A A Black Caviar winning the 2013 Lightning Stakes. (Image: Slickpix) As we reflect on the incredible career of Black Caviar, we look back on all 25 of her career wins. Black Caviar made her debut at Flemington over 1000m on April 18, 2009. Despite having such an incredible association with Luke Nolen, it wasn’t the star jockey who rode her at her first start. That went to jockey Jarrad Noske, who rode Black Caviar to victory with 51.5kg on her back. Starting a $3 shot, she saluted. Incredibly, that was the one and only time Black Caviar had a starting price greater than $2 and in anything other than black type. With Noske in the saddle, she’d lead all the way to win the Listed Blue Sapphire at Caulfield. It was the last time we’d see her as a two-year-old. She’d return at The Valley on a firm 2 and again dominate her rivals with a victory in the Crockett. She’d back that up down the Flemington straight with a win in the Danehill. But it was that win where everyone knew she could be a superstar. She knuckled the start at Flemington and almost dislodged Nolen. She injured her chest muscles during that incident. The paddock beckoned. Black Caviar returned in January with a win in the Australia Stakes. However, injury struck again – this time in her leg. She returned in October 2010, starting a $1.80 favourite and lived up to that price in the Schillaci Stakes. WATCH: Black Caviar wins 1 to 6 Next was the Schweppes Stakes on Cox Plate Day. The result? A 5.5-length victory, beating a stack of talented horses including Hot Danish and Melito. Group 1 grade was next. Black Caviar took on the straight in the then named Patinack Farm Classic. She wasn’t bothered by the rise in grade, winning by four lengths. She beat rival Hay List to take out the Patinack Farm Classic and the two would go toe-to-toe again when she resumed from a spell in the G1 Lightning. She won by 3.25 lengths and a rivalry was born. Next up was the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap, where she set a new weight carrying record for a mare to take out the race as a $1.18 hope. A win in the William Reid followed. Black Caviar had conquered Victoria. What was next? Sydney. The result? Another win. This time in the G1 T.J. Smith. But she was made to work for it with Hay List proving an incredibly stern test. WATCH: Black Caviar wins 7 to 12 Moody continued his adventure with the mare, going north to his home state – Queensland. She took out the G1 BTC Cup. Hay List again was the challenger, but Black Caviar was too strong. Following her extended prep, Black Caviar was given a 21-week break. She returned with wins in the Schillaci and Schweppes Stakes. Her prep culminated in another Patinack Farm Classic victory. Another break followed and when she returned, she won a second Australia Stakes. Could we see her step up in distance? Yes, we could. Moody set his sights on the 1400m C.F Orr Stakes. It was her first and only try over a distance more than 1400m. She won dominantly, beating Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed. Moody then decided to quickly back-up Black Caviar, dropping her back to 1000m to win the Lightning Stakes. WATCH: Black Caviar wins 13 to 18 Another two road trips were then planned. One big one and one small one. The first was to Adelaide, where she won the Group 1 Sangster and Goodwood. The big one? Royal Ascot. All eyes were on the Australian superstar for the trip to Royal Ascot for the Diamond Jubilee. She’d beaten every capable horse Down Under, but could she take on the world? She could. And she was injured. In an incredible Diamond Jubilee performance, Nolen eased up nearing the line on Black Caviar and unlike every other time – she stopped. It was a tighter result than many expected, but she got the job done and saved her jockey’s blushes. Black Caviar was given a long spell to overcome her injury and the trip back to Australia from England. She resumed in the Lighting and won that again. She was freshened up into the William Reid and conquered that too. Her last race and win came in the T.J. Smith where she saluted by three lengths. An incredible career had come to an end. WATCH: Black Caviar wins 19 to 25

In the hours before the news of Black Caviar’s death became public, Peter Moody posted a picture on social media. Posting on X, he shared a moment with Black Caviar and Queen Elizabeth. “The day my two queens met”, the caption read. There was Moody with his top hat off, holding Black Caviar so Her Majesty – a horse racing addict herself – could give our Nelly a pat. Her white glove patted Black Caviar on her head between her eyes, as an adoring public watched on. Black Caviar was used to getting a hero’s reception. She’d received standing ovations at every racetrack she went to in Australia. Fans would line the rails with paper flags waving as she entered and exited the track. In a sport-loving Australia, Black Caviar had transcended racing. She was a national identity – think Don Bradman, Dawn Fraser, Ian Thorpe and Cathy Freeman. We loved her. We wouldn’t hear a bad word about her. Thousands packed Federation Square in Melbourne to watch the 2012 Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot. It’s a venue normally reserved for the Socceroos at the World Cup. The lead-up had been interesting. There were plenty of European knockers when it came to Black Caviar. Was she the real deal? Spoiler: She was. But just minutes before that incredible meeting between Black Caviar and the Queen, the story could have been quite different. Luke Nolen had eased up on Black Caviar – like he had done many times before. But Nelly was injured and stopped dramatically for a couple of strides the minute Nolen had turned off the ignition. He and Black Caviar managed to collect themselves and win the race. It was closer than everyone expected – but she won. “I watched her trot away. Probably wanted to close my eyes. She wasn’t as fluent and happy as she presented previously, and I knew that,” Moody reflected on the documentary Black Caviar – The horse of a lifetime. “It was amazing watching Federation Square in Australia on the big screen at Ascot. What the hell is going on here? Midnight in Melbourne and here’s all these people in the cold and damp. “I was just thinking s--t I hope you haven’t got this wrong.” Nolen added: “When they (the gates opened) she jumped well. She didn’t travel in her usual manner. Didn’t tow me into the race. “I had to give her a shake. “I thought she may have been a bit complacent, and I may have been a bit complacent letting her idle late. “All we have ever done is look after this mare. Win first and foremost but keep her in one piece.” With the job done, Moody and Nolen entered back into the mounting yard with Black Caviar. “We were getting the photos taken with the owners and someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘would you be able to bring her over for the Queen to have a look?” Moody said. “I said, ‘fine’. Walked her up in front of the Queen and (track rider) Paddy Bell said, ‘you wanna give her a pat?’ in his Kiwi accent. “We moved her one step closer, and I was glad she (Black Caviar) was so knackered because we were one step off landing on top of her (the Queen). “There were all these people milling around, patting her on the bum. I was thinking, 'if she (Black Caviar) gets a slap in the wrong spot, Black Caviar will be riding Queen Elizabeth, not the other way around'.”

Shit weather. Any other day we would have had abandonments. Some happy owners and trainers picked up some stakes. All good for those with skin in the game.

But you took an intensive interest in the race...go figure.

Big Saturday - better today with only one in the studio and the two in the field at each meeting.

A few disappeared into the ground in the run home in the second!

Good to hear a Jockey say they walked the track in the morning!

Well look at that @Huey a Good 4 on raceday morning. Light rain so will be in the low soft range. Lots of good form. Take your shades off and get on!!! Free Buses leave from all the local pubs and will have you on course before the first and take you home after the last.

Wait till you hear all of what happened. You'll rabbit on for at least a month.

WTF are you on about now? Then again what would you expect from someone who finds good competitive racing on a good track in winter "BORING"! Note they irrigated yesterday.

You obviously haven't watched for a while or do you have a sight disability?

Certainly proactive.

So presumably it happened overnight? Was the track groomed in the morning? Did the grooming cause the problem. I don't agree that it was a difficult problem to avoid or fix in a short space of time.

Do you have the NZ Tapeta Franchise?

You keep banging on about racing being boring at Ruakaka but don't actually give a reason why other than the inference that you have repeatedly failed to win on the punt there.

How do you know they didn't act? How did nominating the dog cause it harm? It was scratched but then proceeded to do a trial which it passed. I guess GRNZ has the same issues that NZTR and HRNZ have with their antiquated IT systems. They require a degree of manual oversight that sometimes leads to error. However Opawa Pip trialed two weeks previoiusly on 30 July. Was that not a Safe Return to Racing trial?

What the sand is a different grade?

So they don't groom the track raceday morning?

Nice track. Beach is awesome. I'd buy a harness horse and train there. Better than Woodend.

My biggest concern about the AWT tracks has been maintenance. Weekly but more importantly daily and between races. Although we fail to look after our turf tracks at least they have a wider tolerance.

It makes sense though. Great beach to train on and the turf track is good. Enthusiastic locals as well.

Yes he said they are trying that. Some trainers willing to invest in stables at the course.

I just happened to be talking to a prominent NZ Thoroughbred Trainer from the Waikato about the removal of two race dates from Ruakaka. He couldn't understand the reasoning. In fact he wanted to go the other way and give more dates to Ruakaka. He reckoned the track was a good track during the winter and spring. He would be keen to set up a satellite stable as would other trainers if the powers that be had a regular two week meeting - same day every two weeks. Made sense - what do you think?

FFS are you really losing the plot? You posted the reason! Failure to inform Stewards of injury post race in a timely manner. The dog was eventually presented post race to vet with an injury. No conspiracy. Everyone doing their job but E. Cole not doing it in a timely manner.