FAREWELL TO A CHAMPION.. BLACK CAVIAR A LOOK BACK AT A LEGEND OF THE TURF..

On Saturday August 17th one day shy of turning 18 years old the greatest sprinter Australia has produced Black Caviar passed away following a battle with laminitis, the champion broodmare gave birth to a foal on Saturday and was humanely euthanised at the Scone Equine Hospital.

She had contracted a "milk infection about a week ago and we just treated it like you with all broodmares, But it went straight to her feet. It basically killed her feet, She had a foal this morning by Snitzel and they had to put her down humanely shortly after, They scanned her feet yesterday and there was no blood flow at all to her feet. There was minimum blood flow to her feet anyhow as she was such a big girl, I rang all the staff and told them. They were all very upset." Champion trainer Peter Moody told reporters at Caulfield on Saturday.

Moody was quoted saying " You dont think it affects you, But you are being stupid not to think it doesn't. It's impossible not to get attached to most animals let alone like her" . A sentiment that is felt across the horse racing community with tributes pouring in across social media sites like Facebook, X, Reddit and many more.

The champion mare won all 25 of her races amassing nearly $8 million dollars in prize money. She won 15 Group 1 races in her career including her world beating performance at Royal Ascot in 2012 when she won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes with the flu. She was inducted into the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame in 2013 after retiring.

She went on to become a broodmare having 9 foals the most successful being Invincible Caviar who had 4 wins from 8 starts including multiple city wins but died in 2023. She has one unraced 3YO filly in training with Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman named Persian Caviar and 2 unnamed colts one by the Autumn Sun and the Last being born yesterday to Snitzel. These 3 I will be watching for sure as the future progresses.

Being only 43 years old im not lucky enough to have been around when the great Phar Lap was about but I can only imagine the racing world was just as somber the day after he passed as it is today, I have however been lucky enough to see a couple horses that have grabbed the nation's attention Wix, Northerly, Makybe Diva just to name a few but for me Black Caviar holds a special place in my heart and always will.

Below is a short clip showcasing her 25 wins and for those too young to see her i suggest you give it a watch to see just how great she was..