Will Black Caviar become known as the horse that didn't need a Melbourne Cup to make the public smile?
But soon the hype and the joy after the Diva dominace died down, and all of sudden Australia was waiting for another horse, ready to take on history to a level that would once again captivate the nation next year around. However, the following year our nations great race was pinched in a 1-2 Japanese raid, and before long it looked as if horse racing appeared to be well and truly locked away in the inside pages of the newspaper for a long time.
Yes, it might seem a bit dramatic that when just one race fails to achieve what the public hoped for, the public switch off the sport completely. But that's the Melbourne Cup. Unless something sensational or historical has the potential of unfolding, then it's just another name on the winner's list and nothing more. Everyone enjoys their workplace sweep, has a couple of drinks, has a laugh and flicks the telly off. The intricacies and the sheer volume of horse racing can quite easily become a turn-off for those people outside of the industry to learn or watch more. The Australian sporting culture enjoys the 'one chance to shine' ideal in reference to the Melbourne Cup. Of course, in reality horses have to earn numerous group victories, placings and prizemoney before even thinking about a Cup start. But that's just some simply irrelevant backstory, rather sadly, to most Australian sport fans.
This ideal was on show again, in the Spring of 2010. It appeared that for the first time in several years, Australia had a horse prepared to make history to an extent that the public would do more than take a cursory glance at the racing world. His name: So You Think. Not only was this horse by champion stallion High Chaparral a dream headline for writers (i.e. "So You Think he can win?" etc.), but he boasted an envious race record and collection of victories. Most notably, on just his tenth start, winning his second Cox Plate - Australia's premier Weight-for-Age race. So You Think was shaping up for a challenging run in the 2010 Melbourne Cup, a race that appeared to be a touch long for his liking, but trainer Bart Cummings had confidence that his champion would bring him a thirteenth Cup. But there was something else worth running him for.
It didn't take long for the media to pick up on an interesting tidbit of info: So You Think, with victory at Flemington, would become just the second horse in history to win two Cox Plates and a Melbourne Cup. The other was some horse from a long time ago by the name of Phar Lap. No big deal, right? Well, when you look like equaling a record set by something beyond a champion - an icon - then people swarm over you like bees to the hive. It's a frenzy.
So You Think ran third to Americain and Maluckyday. I was on the winning post that day in Flemington. As the horses crossed the line, I heard the biggest groan of disappointment I've heard in my life. It was followed by a short, unnerving silence. But soon we learnt to smile. He had ran beyond his means, and still did a fine job. History wasn't made, he was sold to Coolmore, he was gone. Australian racing was undoubtedly feeling a little empty on the inside.
Come present day. It's Autumn 2011. There's a change on the horizon. Is it possible that Australia can switch, just for a moment, from its love affair with tradition and find the need for speed? Quite possibly. The driving force behind the temporary change might just be a speedy mare by the name of Black Caviar. You might have heard of her. The "Cav" will be chasing an unprecedented 10th straight victory from as many starts in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap on Saturday. And it seems we love to see a new form of dominance in Australian racing. I've noticed BC creeping slowly outwards from the middle of my newspaper pages, I've noticed her working closer towards the front of sports segments on television. Since when do we pay attention to sprinters?
The thing in Black Caviar's favour is the possibility of having the title of "World Champion." If Australia can't see history made in its own race, then what better thing to do than make history across the globe. It's no secret that Australians love being better than other countries at any sport wherever possible. Imagine having a horse so good that people will bring their runners down under instead. You could be looking at something that will rapidly expand foreign interest beyond the great distance races of Australia. Just maybe.
Trainer Peter Moody recently stated that Black Caviar wouldn't take a step off Australian soil. So it's like having a bonus: An Australian horse, that races like a world-beater, that you know you go just around the corner to see. Makes a nice change. After the affair with Dato Tan Chin Nam's sale of So You Think, done effectively behind Cummings' back, it makes loyalty to the Aussie tracks only further appreciated. The public loves having that extra piece of security knowing that a champion will reside among us forever, and will only serve to heighten her already mighty profile.
If (sorry, when) Black Caviar wins her third straight Group 1 on Saturday, I hope that those who just take a passing glance at the racing world can stop for a while and take in what a truly remarkable beast we have tearing up the turf of this country. And she won't even need a Melbourne Cup to make you notice. You'll see.
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