Black Caviar arrives at Heathrow after an epic 30-hour flight from Australia, PICTURE: Getty Images, BY TOM KERR 6:01 PM 7 JUN 2012
AUSTRALIAN sprint queen Black Caviar touched down at Heathrow airport, London, just before 5pm on Thursday after a 30-hour journey that began in Melbourne, south Australia.
After stops in Singapore and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, Black Caviar landed at Britain’s largest airport on board a Singapore Airlines cargo flight and wearing her specially-designed Lycra compression suit designed to promote blood-flow and muscle recovery.
From there she was loaded onto a horse box and transported by road to her home for the next few weeks, the Abington Place Stables in Newmarket, where so many international runners have stayed while preparing for races in Britain.
She is due to run in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on Saturday, June 23, a race for which she is no bigger than 1-2, although those odds are far more generous than usually on offer when she races in Australia.
With victory a foregone conclusion in the eyes of many, the debate has already turned to how comprehensive Black Caviar’s win will be, and Coral make the unbeaten mare a 6-1 chance to win the Diamond Jubilee by five lengths or more.
“Having arrived safely on these shores, Black Caviar looks set to blow the opposition away on her first start outside of Australia when she lines up in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes,” said Coral’s David Stevens.
“Sprinters from down under have proved their worth here in recent years, but Black Caviar brings with her form that is far superior to the likes of Choisir, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti and Scenic Blast, and as far as we’re concerned it’s not if she wins, but a question of how far she wins by”.
Racingpost