A few weeks ago, my partner Deborah Klein and I went to Caulfield racecourse to farewell the great Black Caviar. She trotted up and down the straight, as the top picture shows, and then she had a hose down and entered the exercise ring. It took her nearly an hour and a half to circuit the ring because everyone who was there got to pat her. Deborah and I kept going down the line so we had about six pats each! How generous of her connections to share her with the public like this. It was a magical afternoon, and Black Caviar loved all the attention. She is such an easy going horse and never showed any signs of becoming irritable with the endless patting. She will be missed, and although I saw her race on a number of occassions, I never thought I would get that close to her. Donna Fisher, her strapper, will especially miss her, because looking after a horse like that is a once in a lifetime blessing.
