THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — Black Caviar’s narrow victory in front of Queen Elizabeth II at Royal Ascot may have been the unbeaten Australian mare’s last race.
The 6-year-old Black Caviar’s mere presence created a real buzz at Ascot meeting, but the Australian horse tore back muscles during her victory in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on Saturday, which extended her winning streak to 22 races.
Black Caviar’s owners will make a decision on her future in the next three or four weeks and retirement is an option for the world’s second-ranked flatracing horse, who gained a status akin to a national heroine in Australia after her Ascot triumph.
"If we retire her tomorrow, she’s gone out with 22 wins with the last win being at Ascot," said Neil Werrett, Black Caviar’s part-owner. "We’ve met the queen and the horse got a pat from the queen.
"So if this was the end, she’s ended on a high and she’s one of the best racehorses ever."
Black Caviar was inspected by a veterinarian and a chiropractor after the race, which she won by a nose ahead of Moonlight Cloud after jockey Luke Nolen eased up with barely 100 yards to run.
Werrett said the Peter Moody-trained mare was not at her best in the six-furlong race, and that the injuries may explain why she slowed so quickly after Nolen eased off.
"She was probably feeling a bit sore and as soon as Luke dropped his hands, she decided she was going to stop," Werrett said. "I feel a bit sorry for Luke as the horse was raring to stop. I don’t think there is any doubt that if he’d rode her out, she would have won by a length and a half."
Black Caviar recently broke a long-standing Australian record for consecutive wins, eclipsing the 19 victories of Desert Gold from 1915 to 1917 and of Gloaming from 1919 to 1921.
Saturday’s race at Ascot was her first outside Australia.
"Unfortunately England or Europe didn’t see the best of Black Caviar," Werrett told At The Races.
"At the same time, we’re very thankful she won and she needs a bit of a rest now. We want to look after her and she did a great job," Werrett said Sunday.
Black Caviar will spend time in quarantine before returning to Australia, where her Ascot triumph in front of the queen became a source of national pride. It even prompted the country’s top horse racing official to evoke Australia’s history as a British penal colony.
"Quite frankly, this is the convicts storming Ascot," said Andrew Harding, the chief executive of the Australian Racing Board.
It’s not yet clear when Black Caviar will be able to board a fight to Melbourne, but her handlers said they are eager to get her home as soon as possible. As for her racing again, it has not been ruled out, Werrett said.
"She’s a high maintenance horse and we want to make sure she’s well before she goes to race again," Werrett said.