Unbeaten mare BLACK CAVIAR has maintained her official status as the nation’s best equine with a back to-back sweep of the 2012 Australian Racehorse of the Year Awards.
She was named both the Sky Racing World Australian Racehorse of the Year and Inglis Bloodstock Champion Sprinter for the second year running at a national awards ceremony presented by Sky Racing World, Tabcorp and Staging Connections at Peninsula, Docklands in Melbourne.
Black Caviar, who stretched her unbeaten streak to 22 in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot in June, won all nine starts during the 2011-12 racing season including six at Group 1 level.
In a remarkable season, the five-year-old Peter Moody-trained mare also secured back-to-back wins in Australia’s two legs of the Global Sprint Challenge, the Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) and Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m), as well as stretching her dominance to 1400m in the Orr Stakes at Caulfield.
With votes lodged on a 3-2-1 basis by 86 members of the racing media and senior racing administrators nationwide, Black Caviar secured 257 of a maximum 258 votes in the Racehorse of the Year Award to comfortably defeat More Joyous (70), Atlantic Jewel (65), Pierro and Manighar (33 apiece).
The mares’ dominance also helped Moody secure a second consecutive win in the Champion Group 1 Trainer Award, leading all-comers with 10 elite level victories on Australian soil.
It was the third-consecutive year that a Moody-trained mare has been named Australian Racehorse of the Year, after the recently ill-fated Typhoon Tracy was honoured in 2010, and the sixth time in eight years that a mare has claimed racing’s highest honour.
The full list of award winners, including the voting breakdown for each category, is as follows;
>Sky Racing World Australian Racehorse of the Year - BLACK CAVIAR
Black Caviar (257 votes), More Joyous (70), Atlantic Jewel (65), Pierro (33), Manighar (33), Mosheen (17), Dunaden (16), Hay List (9), Ortensia (7), Sepoy (3), Brungle Cry (2), Black And Bent (2), Americain (1), King Mufhasa (1)
> Eliza Park Champion Two-Year-Old - PIERRO
Pierro (256), Samaready (154), All Too Hard (47), Sizzling (32), Snitzerland (21), Driefontein (4), No Looking Back (2)
> New Zealand Bloodstock Champion Three-Year-Old Filly - ATLANTIC JEWEL
Atlantic Jewel (234), Mosheen (186), Streama (52), Sea Siren (35), Invest (4), Pear Tart (3), Pop Culture (1), Quintessential (1)
> Mitchelton Champion Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding - SEPOY
Sepoy (225), Helmet (88), Foxwedge (84), Manawanui (61), Ethiopia (25), Brambles (21), Sangster (6), Laser Hawk (5), Zabeelionaire (1)
> Inglis Bloodstock Champion Sprinter - BLACK CAVIAR
Black Caviar (258), Hay List (131), Ortensia (33), Sepoy (30), Atlantic Jewel (27), Buffering (13), Foxwedge (8), Sea Siren (7), Rain Affair (5), Mid Summer Music (3), Temple Of Boom (1)
> Monjon Australia Champion Middle Distance Award - MORE JOYOUS
More Joyous (221), Manighar (141), Atlantic Jewel (48), Mosheen (47), Pinker Pinker (35), King Mufhasa (11), Secret Admirer (5), Luckygray (3), Shoot Out (2), Streama (2), Metal Bender (1)
> New Zealand Thoroughbred Marketing Champion Stayer - DUNADEN
Dunaden (228), Manighar (117), Americain (65), Southern Speed (62), Mosheen (25), Niwot (10), Drunken Sailor (3), Ethiopia (3), Lights Of Heaven (2), Brambles (1)
> Staging Connections Champion Jumper - BASHBOY
Bashboy (115), Black And Bent (64), Awakening Dream (29), Brungle Cry (28), Megapixel (22), Tobouggie Nights (8), Gotta Take Care (6), Dubhdara (1), Fareer (1), Kirribilli Gold (1), Zaman (1)
> Stable Connect Champion Sire – Fastnet Rock
> Champion Group 1 Trainer Award – Peter Moody
> Champion Group 1 Jockey Award – Nash Rawiller
Notes
Voting for the equine awards is based on performances anywhere in Australia during the racing season (1 August – 31 July) and on international performances by Australian-trained horses.
An Australian-trained horse is defined as a horse trained by a trainer licensed in Australia and who has a permanent training base in any state or territory of Australia.
Under the conditions, Black Caviar and Ortensia have been judged on both their Australian and international performances during the 2011-12 racing season only.
The Champion Sprinter Award is based only on performances of horses in races of up to and including 1400 metres. The Champion Middle Distance Award is based only on performances of horses in races between 1401 metres and 2199 metres. The Champion Stayer Award is based only on performances of horses in races of 2200 metres and longer.
The Champion Jumper Award takes into account performances between 1 March 2012 and 25 August 2012 only. Victorian and South Australian racing media and senior administrators were exclusively invited to vote on this award. A total of 46 lodged their votes.
The Group 1 trainer and jockey awards take into account performances on Australian tracks only during the 2011-12 racing season (1 August – 31 July).
