The Northern Territory news Mon 6 Aug 2012
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2012-08-06
This publication contains may contain links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
Nationwide News Pty. Limited
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/241767
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/615609
4 NT NEWS. Monday, August 6, 2012. www.ntnews.com.au P U B : N T N E W S D A T E : 6 -A U G -2 0 1 2 P A G E : 4 C O L O R : C M Y K Peter Moody shows off Black Caviar before her 14th win in a row at Caulfield last year Peter Moody is no stranger to winning. GreyMorris finds out what brought the larrikin trainer to the top of the racing industry. Making of racings king PETER Moody makes no apologies for his larrikin approach to the serious sport of horse racing. Australias premier trainer with a glint in his eye, a string of Group 1 wins and several champion horses to his name, grew up in the central Queensland town of Wyandra. He was born in Charleville, 100km away because his home town did not have a hospital, but Moody still calls Wyandra a tiny hamlet of 116 people at its last census in 2006 home. Moody is making his second Top End trek to be the special guest of the Darwin Turf Club at todays Darwin Cup. He will parade the Cup down the main straight prior to the big race at 5.35pm. Moody learnt his craft under legendary trainers Tommy Smith and Colin Hayes before becoming stable foreman for Bill Mitchell in Brisbane for 10 years. And while he is rated Australias best trainer with more than 200 horses under his tutoring at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne, champion mare Black Caviar has made Peter Moody a household name. Amalfi was his first Group 1 winner in 2001. But the years since have produced wins for Magnus in the 2007 AJC Derby, Typhoon Tracy in the Coolmare Classic at Rosehill, Cinque Cento in the Doomben Cup and Reward For Effort in the Blue Diamond Stakes. I knew I had three pretty smart gallopers when I bought them at the Melbourne Premier yearling sales in 2008, Moody recalled. Reward for Effort won the Blue Diamond, Set For Fame won four or five Group 2s and finally a mare we later called Black Caviar. She was the one that continued to improve as time went on. She always looked something special but you are never game to go the early crow because weve all been guilty of it. Moody knew he had a big, strong horse who had to be carefully nurtured. She had a lot of soft tissue injuries just through her physical bulk, he said. She was forever tearing muscles. Chest, bum, everything, muscles Id never heard of and it was just because she was so big and strong. Some of the scariest moments have been at home on the farm, about 30km out of Melbourne. I can tell you honestly, shes been through the bottom fence about three times. She gallops down the hill and just cant pull up, hits the anchors and five strands of wire are gone. Its everything like a bull at a gate, one million miles an hour. And while Black Caviar has won a record 22 races in a row, it was her last win in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in England that set the racing world alight. The mare got the job done, as Moody said, beating French rival Moonlight Cloud by a head in front of 80,000 fans after a long plane trip from Melbourne. Moody revealed at last weeks Carbine Club lunch that his champion was knackered and probably should not have run in the 1200m race. The greatest thing was she travelled beautifully, he said. She lost 9kg when most horses lose 30 or 40kg so that was the saving grace. She was totally out on her feet but we thought wed play the positive tag. We didnt want to say were in trouble, things are going wrong and make a heap of excuses before the race. There was no injury, but she was just knackered, out on her feet. Moody went against his gut instinct to never run Black Caviar through people pressure. But I reckon I did this time and she was able to carry me, he said. So we had to come up with some sort of plan. One was to tackle Ascot in England and I dont know how many people have been to the track. Ascot from the mile mark to the finishing post rises 20m, or 16m a five-storey building from the 1200m mark. Put it simply I ballsed it up, she should have been in a 1000m race, I ran her over 1200. I thought it would equate to a 1400m race when it actually meant she had to run 2000m. That 16m rise meant it was a hell of a climb for a horse that had never raced past 1400. That is what found her out. She was buggered, worn out and we were worried something was going to fall off her. Moody got to meet the Queen after the Diamond Jubilee win. I had dinner with Susan Piggot, wife of legendary jockey Lester, who told me the first time you meet her you call her Your Majesty and from there on you are old mates. That was a pretty special moment, the lad from Charleville and Wyandra meets the Queen. Moody smiled when recalling a request from Prime Minister Julia Gillards private secretary to bring Black Caviar to Canberra to meet the Queen in November last year. This is where the intelligence of the Labor Party comes in, he said. I get a phone call from Julia Gillards secretary to come to Canberra because the Queen wants to meet Black Caviar and shes having brunch with Bart (Cummings) at the Lodge, he said. Would you be able to slip her up to Canberra where shes having lunch? So I said who, me or the horse? Moody also got to meet champion English racehorse Frankel while at Royal Ascot. Sir Henry Cecil, who trains the great Frankel, also got to meet Black Caviar and let me tell you, Ive never seen a man so moved by meeting my horse. Ill say now, Frankel is the greatest horse Ive ever seen. Moody wants Black Caviar to race again in the Autumn after a long rest. Im going to walk out to her paddock in four or five weeks time and have a look at her and say yes or no, he said. Monday Interview with Grey Morris Authorised by Bill Shepheard, Northern Territory Electoral Commission, 80 Mitchell Street, Darwin 1800 MYVOTE or visit www.ntec.nt.gov.au 6 89 6 8 3 For further information call ROLLS CLOSE 8pm WED 8 AUG NT 25 AUGUST 2012 Voting is Compulsory G E N E R A L ELECTION ELECTORAL NOTICE The law requires all eligible persons 18 years of age or older to enrol and vote. You must also update your enrolment whenever you change your address. need to complete an enrolment form. You can also use this form if you are already enrolled but need to provide a new address or change your personal details. Completed and signed forms can be faxed, emailed (after scanning), posted or hand delivered to the Northern Territory Electoral Commission completed form by: DARWIN NT 0801 (no stamp required if posted in Australia) www.ntec.nt.gov.au. You may also change your details on-line at www.aec.gov.au. CORRECT ENROLMENT AND VOTING ARE COMPULSORY