Like most horse trainers, Dubbo’s Peter Nestor has spent his life searching for a superstar to take him to the upper echelon of the sport.
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Unfortunately, those horses are few and far between.
Known for decades as the ‘sport of kings’, galloping is currently being carried by the queen of the turf - Black Caviar.
And Nestor admits as unlikely as it is that he will ever train one as good as the unbeaten mare, it’s nice to dream.
So we let Nestor play trainer of Black Caviar and he came up with a different plan to the mare’s trainer Peter Moody.
“I always thought Sunline was the best mare I had seen but how far would she beat Sunline by?” Nestor said, referring to the champion mare of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“You and I will never see another one like Black Caviar. She’s outstanding and she’s outstanding for the sport really.
“The crowds have followed her everywhere, except Sydney really where they didn’t pack out Randwick, and people are talking about racing again.”
The mare Nestor referred to - Sunline - was a New Zealand-bred star which won 31 races from 48 starts with three minor placings included for earnings in excess of $11 million.
She claimed two Cox Plates, two Doncasters, a Manikato Stakes and a Hong Kong International Mile among her 13 Group One victories and many regarded her as the greatest mare to set foot on a racetrack until Peter Moody’s freakish sprinter came onto the scene.
With two more runs scheduled in Melbourne (Saturday’s Group One Lightning Stakes and the Futurity Stakes the following week) before a planned overseas trip to take on possibly Dubai and Royal Ascot, there is every chance Aussie fans may not get a chance to see much more of Black Caviar.
If Nestor had his way, the Bel Esprit x Helsinge mare would have no need for a visa.
“If I owned her or trained her she wouldn’t be going overseas,” Nestor said.
“If the overseas horses want to take her on, let them come here and race her. I wouldn’t be taking the risk.
“Just watching her, I honestly think she could win a Cox Plate if Pete Moody wanted her to.
“She only had her first go past 1200m last Saturday but the way she relaxes I don’t think she’d have any trouble with 2040m.
“I could see her jumping to the front pretty easily, releaxing nicely and she would be too quick for them when she took off, even if she might have tired legs at the end of the race.”
