Black Caviar puts premier in his place

By Caryl Williamson

SYDNEY, April 13 AAP - NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell wasn't sighted in the aftermath of Black Caviar's latest win, but there were still a few messages for him.

O'Farrell caused a stir earlier in the week when he suggested the only thing better than a Black Caviar victory in Saturday's TJ Smith Stakes would be if she suffered her first defeat in Sydney.

"The only thing better than a Black Caviar victory will be if Sydney is known as the place where Black Caviar was beaten by a horse with Jim Cassidy on its back," O'Farrell said.

Those words were still resonating with the Black Caviar camp after the capacity Sydney crowd welcomed her back to the Randwick enclosure like one of their own.

"It seems the whole of Sydney is behind us except for the premier," managing owner Neil Werrett said.

"She is a national horse.

"She is trained by a Queenslander and has NSW and Victorian owners."

Trainer Peter Moody is firmly entrenched as Melbourne's leading trainer, but has never forgotten his roots as a boy from outback Queensland who wanted to work with horses.

He spent a decade in Sydney before moving to Melbourne and said he knew how much the crowd appreciated her.

"Sydney hasn't had the pleasure of seeing her as much as Victoria," he said.

"Everyone appreciates her.

"This was the best field she'd ever met they tell me."

For the record, O'Farrell's prediction Sea Siren finished fifth, more than six lengths from Black Caviar.