RESULT - 2011 COOLMORE LIGHTNING STAKES - G1

1000 m / 5f

1st LEG GLOBAL SPRINT CHALLENGE

TRACK: Dead 4

Click here to see all the results from the Coolmore Lightning Stakes meeting

Black Caviar sizzles in the Lightning Stakes

Saturday, 19 February 2011

Racing's pin-up horse Black Caviar equalled a 131-year-old record when she blitzed her rivals in the Group 1 $750,000 Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington this afternoon.

Australia's newly crowned World Champion sprinter stretched her unbeaten streak to nine, a feat first achieved on city tracks by 1880 Melbourne Cup winner Grand Flaneur.

Three horses, Mollison (early 1930's), Eye Liner (mid 1960's) and Rancher (early 1980's), have since matched the feat winning their first nine starts on predominantly city tracks.

Black Caviar will get the chance to establish a new mark when she shoots for a perfect 10 out of 10 at her next start during the Melbourne Festival of Racing.

This will come in either the Group 1 $1 million Lexus Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington on Saturday, 12 March or the Group 1 $500,000 Pulse Pharmacy William Reid Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley on Friday night, 25 March.

A decision on whether she contests the Newmarket, Australia's premier open age sprint, is likely to be made after weights are released for the rich handicap on 1 March.

Black Caviar's trainer Peter Moody was in awe of his superstar who was eased down to defeat arch rival Hay List by over three lengths in what was the opening leg of the 2011 Global Sprint Challenge.

Third across the line was three-year-old filly Warm Love who ran the race of her life to finish so close to Australia's two best sprinters.

"I'm very proud to be a part of what's probably our ambassador for racing here in Australia at the moment in Black Caviar," Moody said.

"It's exciting, I'm lost for words, I don't know what to say, she's just one hell of a horse."

Winning jockey Luke Nolen, who was sat motionless before allowing the four-year-old to sprint clear of her rivals 300-metres from home, said the result was never in doubt.

"It's a pretty hard feeling to describe, it seems you've got an endless reserve to bank on," he said.

"It was good to just get that Group 1 on her and hopefully there's many more in store," he added in reference to missing her maiden Group 1 victory last November at Flemington when suspended.

Pre-race discussion centred upon whether Black Caviar would break Special's 23-year-old track record of 55.5sec for the 1000-metre straight track.

It wasn't to be with a stiff headwind and Nolen's decision to ease her right down over the final 100 metres leading to a winning time of 57.2sec with plenty of petrol still left in the tank.

When asked whether he would travel overseas with Black Caviar, Moody quickly issued a challenge to the Northern Hemisphere's best sprinters to travel down under and meet her on Australian soil.

"There's plenty of planes come this way so if any of them want to jump on one and come and have a crack, I'm sure they'll find a slot for them in a Group 1 here in Australia," he quipped.

2011 COOLMORE LIGHTNING STAKES 1000m (5f)

Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia

FIRST LEG 2011 GLOBAL SPRINT CHALLENGE

Saturday 19 February, 2011

4:10pm (AEST) 2:10pm (JPN) 1:10pm (HK) 6:10am (UK)

Click here to view all the fields for Flemington on Saturday 19 February

Bigger And Better Challenge Begins Saturday

MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 17 February 2011

An enhanced Global Sprint Challenge now taking in elite sprint races across five nations will
commence in spectacular style this Saturday at Flemington.

The Group 1 $750,000 Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) is the first of two Australian legs in the
internationally acclaimed series and is headlined by World Champion sprinter Black Caviar

First conducted in 2005, the Global Sprint Challenge is the world’s richest sprint series taking in
races across Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and for the first time in 2011, Singapore.

Singapore’s premier turf sprint, the KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) at Kranji Racecourse on 22
May, has been added, further strengthening the series’ worldwide appeal.

It takes to nine the number of races in the 2011 Global Sprint Challenge which collectively boasts
$US10.8 million in prize money and offers international acclaim for horses and connections.

As part of the enhancements for the 2011 series all races will carry Group 1 status, following the
substitution of one of two races held in Japan.

September's Group 2 Centaur Stakes (1200m) at Hanshin Racecourse has been replaced by the
Group 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) on 27 March.

The Takamatsunomiya Kinen is held annually at Japan’s Chukyo Racecourse, but with the track
under renovation in 2011, the sprint will be held this year at Hanshin.

The 2011 Global Sprint Challenge will once again carry a lucrative bonus for any horse that can
excel across multiple jurisdictions.

Any horse that can win three races in three different countries outside their own racing jurisdiction
will collect a $US1 million bonus to be split 75% to the owners and 25% to the trainer.

Global Sprint Challenge Chairman, Leigh Jordon, said, “The Global Sprint Challenge enters an
exciting new phase of growth in 2011 with the introduction of Singapore’s KrisFlyer International
Sprint further strengthening both the quality and appeal of the series.

“With the changes to the Japanese legs and the addition of Singapore, we have now a better spread
of races throughout the calendar year and indeed across the globe which we hope will foster further
competition between the world’s best sprinters.

“The Coolmore Lightning Stakes which opens this year’s Global Sprint Challenge has proven an
important springboard for Australian horses contesting later legs, particularly in the UK, and thus
Saturday’s race will command attention in racing jurisdictions around the world.

“Four of the past five winners of the Lightning Stakes went on to contest Global Sprint Challenge
races in the UK later that year, whilst the other, Apache Cat, contested the Hong Kong leg. We’re
hopeful that this year’s winner will continue the tradition and compete on the world stage.”

Three of the past five Lightning Stakes winners – Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007) and
Scenic Blast (2009) – have gone on to win the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes (1000m) at Royal Ascot,
UK, after Choisir blazed a trail for Australian sprinters completing the double in 2003.

Last year’s Lightning Stakes winner Nicconi finished fourth in the King’s Stand Stakes, whilst
Starspangledbanner progressed from a fourth placing in the 2010 Lightning Stakes to win the other
two UK legs of the Global Sprint Challenge, the Golden Jubilee Stakes and Darley July Cup.

Australian-trained or bred sprinters won five of the eight legs of the 2010 Global Sprint Challenge,
whilst Australian-bred Kinsasha no Kiseki features as the winner of the 2010 Takamatsunomiya
Kinen, the last edition before its introduction into this year’s series.

With Black Caviar heading an impressive list of Australian sprinters that includes equine giant Hay
List and smart three-year-old Star Witness, 2011 shapes as another defining year for the nation’s
fastest thoroughbreds, both locally and on the world stage.

The Coolmore Lightning Stakes will be run at 4.10pm (AEST) this Saturday with the Peter Moody trained
and Luke Nolen-ridden Black Caviar the commanding favourite in a field of 10.

Black Caviar was a winner of the seventh leg of the 2010 Global Sprint Challenge, Flemington’s
Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m), at her most recent start on 6 November last year.

Australia’s World Champ Shooting For 9 Straight

Wednesday, 16 February 2011

Australia’s newly crowned World Champion sprinter Black Caviar will face nine rivals upon her return to racing this Saturday at Flemington in the Group 1 $750,000 Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m).

The Peter Moody-trained superstar will be an odds-on favourite to extend her unbeaten streak to nine when she meets a quality field in the opening leg of the 2011 Global Sprint Challenge.

If victorious the four-year-old mare will become the first horse in Australia since star juvenile Rancher in 1981-82 to enjoy a nine-race unbeaten streak on metropolitan tracks.

Black Caviar, who’ll be ridden by Luke Nolen, will carry saddlecloth number seven and jump from barrier seven when the fastest horses in the nation clash in the Lightning Stakes at 4.10pm (AEST).

In her only race over 1000 metres at Flemington, Black Caviar posted a winning time of 56.63sec on debut as a two-year-old. The track record of 55.5sec was set by Special in the 1988 Lightning Stakes.

Headlining the opposition and setting up an intriguing rematch is New South Wales speed machine Hay List who boasts 12 wins from 15 starts and will start from barrier 10 with Glyn Schofield aboard.

The John McNair-trained hulk raced below his best when unplaced behind Black Caviar in the Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington last November and connections are eager for revenge.

Adding depth to the contest is highly talented comeback galloper King Pulse (barrier three), 2010 Golden Slipper winner Crystal Lily (four), evergreen straight track specialist Grand Duels (five) and the promising True Persuasion (eight) who was placed behind Hay List and Black Caviar in Group company last spring.

Rounding out the field is South Australian three-year-old Stirling Grove (two), local three-year-old filly Warm Love (six), the talented Tollesprit (nine) and unheralded Queensland visitor Leapfrog (one).

On the statistical front, only two favourites have saluted in the past 10 editions of the Lightning Stakes with the mare Miss Andretti the shortest of those at $3.20 in 2007. The last odds-on favourite to win was Queensland flyer General Nediym who started at 8/11 when triumphant as a three-year-old in 1998.

Of the past 20 Lightning Stakes winners, 17 have succeeded upon resumption from a spell. Six of the 10 runners will be making their first appearance for 2011 on Saturday, including Black Caviar and Hay List.

Both Moody and Nolen will be chasing their maiden victories in the Lightning Stakes, whilst the most successful jockey in the race’s history, Damien Oliver, will be chasing a sixth win aboard Crystal Lily.