Black Caviar at Royal Ascot Saturday AM

[Calzone Lord]

It was certainly not a good performance for Black Caviar relative to her reputation -- and though the rider misjudged the finish -- he never pulled her up and merely stopped riding for a split second. Might have cost her a half length absolute tops.

The final time for the race was 1:14.10 for six furlongs. You could have thrown a blanket over many of them at the finish.

In the very next race, a useful handicap horse named Dandy Boy won a 29 runner event clear by 1.25 lengths in 1:13.87

Perhaps Dandy Boy just loves sprinting at Ascot -- he's 2-for-2 and won a 29-runner event there in 2010. Dandy Boy has now beaten all 56 horses he's faced sprinting on that course and just posted a time faster than Group 1 sprinters on the same day, distance, and only 35 minutes apart time wise.

Black Caviar had to deal with some international travel and a whole new climate. She didn't get the best of rides and she's getting up in age. It was a great win for her resume but not a performance consistent with that of an elite turf sprinter.