A RESPONSE TO THE RESPONSE ABOUT BLACK CAVIAR'S WIN

By Matt Nicholls

25/06/2012

melbourneracing@gmail.com

WE all know the saying – opinions are like a---holes, everyone has them.

So I'm going to do my best to not get on my high horse about everyone's opinion of Black Caviar's performance on Saturday night, because everyone is entitled to their opinion.

What bemuses me, however, is that these once-a-year experts suddenly feel qualified to comment on a jockey's tactics, a horse's gait and welfare.

The rumours about Black Caviar have been rife over the past couple of days. Most of them from unreliable or made-up sources.

So let me start by saying that I'm not in the Moody camp and I'm not a qualified veterinarian.

Unless a horse is visibly limping then I can't tell if it's lame.

In fact, I've known some horses can look like they are a bit sore in one leg, only to find out that's the way they always look.

So I'm not going to comment on Black Caviar's fitness.

The one thing I can say definitively is that she did not race to her best on Saturday night at Royal Ascot and still managed to win a Group 1 race on a track she'd never seen before.

To me, that's a bloody terrific effort.

There are a lot of factors to take into account with horses travelling overseas and, invariably, horses run worse than their usual standard.

Things like vaccinations can affect different horses in different ways and its not uncommon for thoroughbreds to go "off the boil" after their pre-travel jabs.

So there are many things that need to be taken into account when horses come overseas.

It's the same when European stayers come to Australia in the spring.

That's why I was rapt with Black Caviar's performance on Saturday night.

I'm on the record as saying she's not my favourite horse, but that doesn't mean I'm not in awe of her achievements.

But you can't take away the fact she's a champion.

Twenty-two wins on the trot – 12 at Group 1 level – that kind of record is unparalleled.

The fact she could still win after a poor ride says something about her mettle.

Not many horses can pick up the bit again after being eased down, but she found something when Nolen asked her for one last effort.

That says a lot to me.

The less said about Nolen's ride, the better.

The best thing is he got off the horse, put his hand up and said "I made a mistake".

Jockeys make mistakes and just like footballers and golfers and tennis players, the pressure can get to them.

Nolen could have easily gotten off Black Caviar and found an excuse – she was racing unusually, she seemed sore etc – but he took the blame like a man.

He probably would have been lynched if the mare lost, so it's lucky she didn't, but he showed guts by standing in front of the racing world and admitting a mistake.

It's not often a jockey will be remembered for a bad ride when they go on to win the race, in fact I can't think of any, but sadly I reckon Nolen will often be remembered as the bloke who nearly cost Black Caviar at Royal Ascot.

He doesn't deserve that.

Any jockey could have ridden Black Caviar to her 22 wins – it's pretty much a sit-down job – but what Nolen has done is offered himself to the racing public.

I've seen him sign autographs at Moonee Valley for hours as punters have queued up to get close to him and Peter Moody.

I've seen him reflect every bit of kudos delivered his way towards the horse.

That's not easy to do.

Nolen is an above average jockey in Australia and there are others in the same class that would handle the publicity a lot differently.

As far as I'm concerned, Nolen couldn't have done it better.

He put in one bad ride, but saved himself late by pushing her for the last couple of strides.

Once he did, it was mission accomplished.

The race had been won.

That's all Black Caviar was there to do.

She was there to win a Group 1 race on foreign soil in front of Queen Elizabeth II and tens of thousands of British punters.

Like Moody said, you only have to win by a quarter of an inch.