Black Caviar: The making of a racing legend

To many who watched Black Caviar win her 25th race, the victory meant witnessing racing history.

“When I have children, I want to be able to speak to them about the day I saw Black Caviar race. It’s really important that I pass that on to my children.”

There were a lot people at Randwick Racecourse like the woman who told me that: not racing aficionados, just ordinary Australians wanting to say one day I was there when…

“I was there when Black Caviar won her 25th straight race” “When Sydney went crazy for Melbourne’s horse” “When Black Caviar strode the equine world.”

Many came dressed for the occasion: salmon pink with black spots. Those are Black Caviar’s jockey’s colours: caps, ties, dresses. Some even had full suits – they were wearing more of the jockey’s colours than the jockey. 

It is a remarkable achievement. Twenty-five wins from 25 starts.

Black Caviar had already won more than $7m in prize money. With victory in Saturday’s TJ Smith Stakes at Royal Randwick, she’s picked up another $600,000.

But Randwick today was about more than money it was about a horse becoming a legend about high expectations being met about experiencing a little taste of Black Caviar.