She came, she saw, and yet again, she conquered.  What an amazing experience.  What a wonderful day.  Black Caviar became the first horse to remain undefeated in 10 starts.  I say she may well better the record of the mighty Zenyatta in America.  She won with consummate ease.  The Newmarket Handicap is a race where usually no one would dare to photograph it from the Clock Tower, which is 200m from home.  Yet there were about half a dozen photographers that ended up standing around where I did.  She was remarkable.  She won without being extended, carrying 58kg.  This is a weight carrying record for a mare.  Maybe Mahal won in 1978 with 56.5kg, and the last time a horse carried 58kg to victory was in 1991 when Shaftesbury Avenue won the race.  Even the great Takeover Target was only given 57kg,  which according to my calculations is 2kg UNDER weight for age.  Yet weight for age for a 4yo mare is 56.5kg, so she carried...

I have a little feeling that this weekend will be all about girl power.  Tomorrow morning I will leave the house early, about 5am, to catch the first plane out to Melbourne.  I'm heading for the vast spaces of Flemington, where I have a date seeing Black Caviar try to win her 10th consecutive race.  The journalists are saying no horse ever won their first 10 starts, and that if successful she'll not only set a new weight carrying record for a mare, but she'll hold the distinction of the first Australian horse to remain unbeaten after 10 starts.   I will stay overnight in Melbourne, and then fly home on Sunday afternoon.  Our local filly, Karuta Queen, will contest Sunday's Black Opal Stakes here in Canberra.  Trainer Neville Layt made the decision yesterday after the Black Opal's barrier draw.  He had entered his filly in both the Opal and in the Sweet Embrace to be run at Warwick Farm on Saturday. The filly is badly weighted in the Opal, as it is a s...