The much-travelled Kiwi training team of Murray Baker and his son Bjorn are using their calculators a lot these days – busily converting Australian dollars into the New Zealand equivalent.

Today the conversion rate was $NZ1.339 to the $AUD1.00, which makes the three hour flight across the Tasman a valuable exercise with the right horse.

Murray Baker (pictured), from his Cambridge base, was scouring the Melbourne racing programs last weekend when he came across two races at Moonee Valley on Friday that weren’t initially on his radar – the $150,000 (make that $NZ200,850) Moonee Valley Night Cup (2500m) and the $100,000 ($NZ133,900) Listed Typhoon Tracy Stakes (1200m) for three-year-old fillies.

Baker already has Group 1 Australian Guineas contender We Can Say It Now working along strongly at Flemington out of the Danny O’Brien stables.

Without hesitation he booked his filly Twilight Savings on the first plane out of Auckland for the Typhoon Tracy, while Mr Tipsy, who had failed in last week’s Hobart Cup, was already on his way across Bass Strait after the Bakers missed the nominations for the Launceston Cup. The Moonee Valley Night Cup became an ideal substitute race and much easier assignment.

A study of the conditions meant that well-performed Twilight Savings got into her race, run under set weights and penalty conditions, on the 55kg minimum. The filly is a winner of four of her nine starts, including an open age weight-age-age sprint, the Listed Lion Red Stakes (1200m), at Rotorua in October. She followed that with a third behind the crack colt Jimmy Choux in the Group1 NZ 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton before backing up a week later to finish second behind the star filly King’s Rose in the Group 1 NZ 1000 Guineas (1600m, Riccarton). Twilight Savings’ only run since was a ninth behind Mufhasa on a wet track at Trentham in the Group 1 Telegraph Stakes (1200m) on January 22.

“Because of the low prizemoney in New Zealand, her weight-for-age win was worth only $NZ28,000 to the winner, well under the threshold for the conditions of a Group or Listed winner (of $AUD45,000), which would have given her the minimum penalty of an extra kilo,” Baker said.

“She looks pretty well in for a Stakes-winning filly placed at Group 1 level.”

Mr. Tipsy finished a disappointing 13^th of 16 behind Big Spotter in the Hobart Cup on February 13. Baker said the big-striding gelding didn’t handle the tight Elwick circuit. “He just didn’t get into the race, he’s going a lot better than that.”

Mr. Tipsy won the Listed Marton Cup (2200m) at Awapuni on January 15. He was last in Melbourne in the 2009 spring when he finished last behind Alcopop in the Group 2 Herbert Power Handicap (2400m) at Caulfield. Subsequently, he was found to have a wind problem, which has been operated on.

In the 2009 autumn, Mr Tipsy finished third behind Ista Kareem in the Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200m, Randwick), and he only needs to show something of his best form to test his rivals at the Valley.

Michael Rodd will ride both Bakers-trained horses. Twilight Savings has drawn poorly in barrier 14; Mr Tipsy will come from barrier seven.

The trainer of one of the world’s top sprinters has fired a “hold your horses” shot at those who rate Black Caviar as the world’s standout sprinter.

Despite Black Caviar’s sensational second Group 1 win in the opening leg of the Global Sprint Challenge – in the Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on Saturday, after winning one of last year’s legs, the Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington in November at her previous start – Singapore-based South African Patrick Shaw said he would love to see his champion sprinter Rocket Man race the Australian mare.

Shaw told Craig Brennan of www.turfclub.com.sg, the Singapore Turf Club’s official site, that he found it hard to believe that Black Caviar could be rated as the world’s best sprinter without racing outside Australia.

“Maybe if I had stayed in Singapore with Rocket Man and not raced overseas, I’d have the best horse in the world,” said an incredulous Shaw.

“I think it is quite a statement to say that she is the best when she hasn’t raced outside of Australia. Until she has taken on those horses like J J The Jetplane and Sacred Kingdom, how can anyone say she is the best?

“Sacred Kingdom is still one of the best sprinters around and has proven it over a long period of time.”

The World Thoroughbred Rankings, compiled by the chief handicappers in the major racing jurisdictions, have Black Caviar ranked No. 1 on 123 ahead of J J The Jet Plane on 122. Rocket Man, Sacred Kingdom and Starspangledbanner are on 121 and Hay List, second to Black Caviar on Saturday, rounds out the top half-dozen on 120.

And Racing Victoria’s chief handicapper Greg Carpenter indicated after Black Caviar’s Lightning win that her mark would be lifted even more.

Shaw told Brennan, a Victorian who has worked in Singapore for three years, that he was impressed with what he saw of Black Caviar on TV, but he would be happy to take her on anywhere in the world.

“She is a top filly, but mine is a top gelding,” he said. “If the money is there then I would love to be taking her on, but it must be worthwhile for the both of us.”

Shaw said he would be happy to travel to Australia to take on Black Caviar in this year’s $500,000 Patinack Farm Classic – there’s a challenge to Racing Victoria if ever there was one! – but first Rocket Man has other international targets: to make up for three seconds … to American Kinsale King in last year’s $2 million Golden Shaheen, the race on again on the artificial Tapeta surface in Dubai next month; and to Hong Kong sprinters Sacred Kingdom and Green Birdie in the Group 1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m) on the turf at Kranji in the past two Mays. The $1 million KrisFlyer, on May 22 this year, is a leg of the Global Sprint Challenge for the first time.

Perhaps getting in the way of a trip to Australia for Rocket Man is Japan’s $3 million Group 1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) in early October, so the question is: will Shaw take up the general challenge of Caulfield trainer Peter Moody to overseas connections to bring their horses to Melbourne if they want to race against Black Caviar?

THE SPRINTERS, THEIR RECORDS

Black Caviar (br m 4, Bel Esprit-Helsinge, by Desert Sun (GB)) Has raced nine times for nine wins, with two Group 1s. Has earned $1.69m. Rating 123.

Rocket Man (b g 5, Viscount-Macrosa (NZ), by McGinty (NZ)) Has raced 16 times for 12 wins and four seconds – by a combined total of 1.2 lengths and all at International Group 1 level. The latest was when beaten a head by J J The Jet Plane, with Sacred Kingdom third, in the Cathay Pacific International Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin in December. Has earned $S1.62m ($1.25m). Rating 121.

Sacred Kingdom (b g 7, Encosta De Lago-Courtroom Sweetie, by Zeditave) Has raced 28 times for 17 wins, with seven Group 1s. Has earned $HK43.92m ($5.57m). Rating 121.

J J The Jet Plane (b g 6, Jet Master (SAF)-Majestic Guest (SAF), by Northern Guest (USA) Has raced 24 times for 12 wins, with seven Group 1s. Has earned £1.01m ($1.62m). Rating 122.

PHOTO: Rocket Man (Barend Vorster) winning at Kranji in Singapore. (courtesy of Singapore Turf Club).

FROM THE FEBRUARY ISSUE OF INSIDE RACING

Stephen Howell vents on the growing use of joining the words to make up a horse’s name.

The Registrar of Racehorses’ guide to naming horses in Australia says there is a maximum of 18 characters, including spaces and apostrophes – not o’postrophes as in the name Mr O’postrophe (an Encosta De Lago gelding trained at Tatura by Kevin Evans) – in any thoroughbred racehorse’s name.

It also says names may be rejected if they are difficult to pronounce or read. It’s no stretch to put Andyahatblewoff, who races in Western Australia, in this category.

And the guide says “except at the discretion of the Registrar of Racehorses, words cannot be run together – e.g. GOTTOFLY would be registered as GOT TO FLY” (the guide’s capitals, not mine; and there is no such animal).

There are many other naming conditions, but these are the ones that have me standing on my soapbox. They seem to disqualify the growing number of run-together – or runtogether – names running around tracks all around Australia.

And the problem is global, especially in the US where they apparently delight in mangling English. But that’s a wider story that affects Australia only when the horses are good enough to come out here for stud purposes, such as Coolmore’s Henrythenavigator (pictured). Or worse still, are good enough to be bought by Coolmore with stud duties in mind and race overseas carrying an Australian-given name, such as Starspangledbanner. Thank goodness it is not Soyouthink.

The Registrar of Racehorses is responsible for the original registration and naming of all thoroughbred horses in Australia, about 14,000 a year. There are lots of don’ts, starting with the maximum length.

Furthermore, there is an item in RISA’s naming guidelines that says: “The Registrar may refuse to register a name containing multiple words run together if it is difficult to decipher. For ease of pronounciation (sic) and to avoid confusion the Registrar encourages the use of spaces between words.”

OK, a random sample to illustrate that confusion is starting to reign …

Consider Nevacantel – Why joined together and why mis-spelt? – a five-year-old racing in North Queensland. Well, a search shows there was a Never Can Tell whose only race was when last in a Nowra (NSW) Maiden in 1993, and there’s a 17-year ban on using the same name. Wouldn’t it be simpler to ban the mis-spelling, too? After all, you say it the same way.

Consider a recent midweek meeting at Betfair Park (Sandown) that had Diamondsondinside. I assume the ‘d’ before ‘inside’ is short for ‘the’. So, I assume it could be Diamonds On The Inside, but that would exceed the limit.

And why do spaces count? The commentator doesn’t pronounce spaces, just as he doesn’t run together a name without them.

What about the blue-riband Derby day at Flemington last spring? There were Absolutelyawesome, Alittlebitofmonica, Heartsareforlove and Luckyi’mbarefoot (I’m surprised they worried about the apostrophe) – not to
mention Lovemelikearock and Shadowofexcellence who were scratched; two or more words all.

And let’s not forget Maluckyday. I suppose I could say that at least it wasn’t It’smaluckyday, but I’d rather say it should be My Lucky Day.

In a country meeting at Mornington in November, we had Inabeauti, Our Poeticprincess and Carryusall.

The first is by Beautiful Crown from Inaflury, and it might have a good heart,
but …; the second is the way it is to keep the count to 18, but would it matter if it was 19? I think not; and the third seems to be a play on carousel, from the dam Toy Carousel.

Some of the amalgams can be clever, but some such as Diggersanddealers, Amerryking, Lordoftheparrots, Touched Byan Angel and many of the aforementioned – ah, there’s a great name for a racehorse, don’t you think? – are needlessly spaceless.

And don’t get me started on harness racing names … just let me finish with Hadyourjeanson (a NSW pacer), simply so I can say, Hadituptohere!

This column usually concentrates on the Australian connection in Hong Kong and Singapore racing, and will get to it eventually.

The headline today, however, must be on the “bright young thing” of European and Hong Kong racing, Frenchman Maxime Guyon, who bowed out of a short stint with a treble at Sha Tin yesterday that included his first Group 1 in Honkers, the $HK6 million (about $760,000) Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on Ambitious Dragon for South African Tony Millard.

Guyon (21) appears to be the next Christophe Soumillon or the new Frankie Dettori, a talent to hang a hat on wherever he rides, and to attract plenty of publicity.

Originally, there were complaints about how he had a manager to get him rides, something Hong Kong does not allow – Guyon was a special case as the Hong Kong Jockey Club said his man was there as a translator because the young jock had no English, the language the business of racing is conducted in.

That controversy aside, Guyon enjoyed a fruitful ride and will be welcomed back at the same time next year for another stint during the European winter.

In three months he had 14 winners, with 24 seconds and 15 thirds, from 167 rides.

Before going to Hong Kong he had 345 wins, with five at Group 1, from 3100 rides.

Guyon, on Ambitious Dragon, beat home a trio of Australians – Brett Prebble on Lucky Nine, Zac Purton on Let Me Handle It and Darren Beadman on Xtension – and the horse now is favourite to win the Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on March 20. Guyon will make a flying visit to ride Ambitious Dragon (b g 4, Pins-Golden Gamble (NZ), by Oregon (USA)).

With more than four months to go in the Hong Kong season, 10-times champion South African Douglas Whyte (52) has a winning lead in the jockeys’ premiership from Beadman (35), Prebble (33) and Purton (26). Australian John Moore (42) is seven wins clear on top of the trainers’ list.

IN SINGAPORE, boom horse Better Than Ever returned from a spell to win the Group 3 Three Rings Trophy (1400m) at Kranji yesterday and make it 13 wins from 14 starts, the only loss a sub-standard 12th of 15 over 2200m on a bog track in mid-November.

Trainer Laurie Laxon is aiming Better Than Ever (b g 4, French Deputy (USA)-Songfest, by Unbridled’s Song (USA)) at the $5 million Group 1 Dubai Duty Free (1800m) at Meydan on March 26.

Jockey Saimee Jumaat said: “This race was the perfect prep race for his next destination. I have no doubt he can measure up as we all know he’s a world-class horse.”

Laxon (17 wins) leads the Singapore trainers’ premiership from fellow New Zealanders Steve Gray and Mark Walker (11). Don Baertshiger heads the Australians with eight wins from last year’s champion Steven Burridge, Michael Freedman and Cliff Brown (all on 7).

Australian Vlad Duric is top jockey with 23 wins from Brazilian Joao Moreira (15) and Saimee (11). Other Australians near the top are Danny Beasley (10) and John Powell and Ronny Stewart (both 9). The Singapore season runs until the end of the year.

Photo: Maxime Guyon winning on Ambitious Dragon at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Black Caviar may not quite be the talk of the racing world just yet, but on Saturday she was the talk of racing’s Twitter world.

There is quite a large international racing community on Twitter and other social networking sites, and it was intriguing to catch an instant reaction to Black Caviar’s win in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) win at Flemington.

The race was covered live in the US and on the American iPhone application Australian Racing, and also live in the United Kingdom.

New York-based journalist and bloodstock consultant Sid Fernando (@sidfernando), a prolific user of Twitter – he has sent more than 30,000 tweets – was one of the first to tune in, and he gave his Twitter coverage to his 1625 followers from the time the horses gathered behind the stalls.

This was his succinct description of the race, in four tweets, with all eyes on Black Caviar: “going easy … here she goes, on lead easy … 3 (to) 4 in front … easy 4 length winner”.

Others quickly joined in. Another North American journalist, photographer and author Jamie Newell (@wowhorse), from Illinois – I later found out it’s a woman after calling her “mate” – cottoned on to Sid’s tweets and also made comment, especially when King Pulse was asked to trot up for the veterinarian following playing up in the barriers: “Wow… they would never let a horse trot away from the gate like that in the US after bucking off the rider from the gate”.

After watching the race Newell was in raptures of Black Caviar:

“HOLY SHIT!!!!

“OMG she looks AWWWWWWESOME!!!!”

American sports nut and man of 10,000 tweets, Ed Morgans (@edmorgans) replied after reading some of the comments on Black Caviar by repeating (retweeting) Newell: “This would be another, less wordy, way to sum up Black Caviar’s performance. RT @wowhorse HOLY SHIT!!!!”

Newell followed up with:

“Black Caviar was crazy impressive. With Rachel & Zenyatta gone, I’m looking overseas for a hero to follow now!

“Sounds like we won’t be seeing her anytime soon in the USA, then. The Aussies rarely, if ever, come here to race.

“She didn’t even appear to be trying! She sped out of there like the others were working w/(with) deflated tires (sic)!

“I got lucky. Just looked at Twitter before the race went off & saw I hadn’t missed it. Glad I saw it!”

Newell immediately asked through Twitter for more information on Australian racing.

Across the Atlantic, the reaction hummed along.

Australian trainer Jeremy Gask (@jeremygask), now based in Wiltshire, England, also chimed in with a comment that Black Caviar was the best sprinter he had seen.

James Knight (@jamesaknight), who works for bookmaking firm Corals, made his request: “dreaming of Caviar at Ascot …”

Expat Australian Scott Ferguson (@borisranting), formerly of Betfair and based in England, said he always rated Silent Witness the best sprinter he had seen: “watched Silent Witness at Sha Tin once, he’s my benchmark” but Black Caviar is “getting very close. A Newmarket win off top weight would seal the deal.”

James Knight (@jamesknight) said that he has “word that there may be a better chance than is being reported” of Royal Ascot recruiter Nick Smith talking Peter Moody into travelling to Royal Ascot this year.

David Johnson (@davidjohnson82), after watching a replay of the race on Youtube: “Black Caviar wins Lightning Stakes. Surely the best sprinter in the world.”

Gavin Dobson (@gav_dobson), also after watching a replay: “A.Mazing”.

In Japan, @sundaysilence0325 was delighted with reports that Black Caviar could race in Japan later in 2011, and also showed a surprisingly good knowledge of Australian racing history: “Congratulations to Black Caviar. She will challenge to Australian record set by Grand Flaneur.

“I’m really looking forward to watching Black Caviar in Japan! We’ll roll out the red carpet!!”

The eyes and tweeps (people who tweet) of the world are on the wonder sprinter from Down Under.

Danny Power can be followed on Twitter: http://twitter.com/@thethoroughbred

Photo: Black Caviar (Ben Melham) winning the G1 Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington last November.

While Peter Moody, at this stage, is reluctant to take Black Caviar to the world, today “the world” was happy to come to the mare promoted as the “world’s fastest horse”.

To get most of the promotion of the headline act in the headline race of Saturday’s big Flemington meeting out of the way well in advance of the Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m), the affable Moody had Melbourne’s media and international recruiters (as “the world’s” representatives) around to his Caulfield stable to see Black Caviar, or Nelly as she is known in-house.

Stablehand Tom Barbary brought her out of her box to pose for the cameras – and to unanimous appreciation of the media posse impressed by her coat, her size and her demeanour – for five brief minutes outside the gates signed “Survivors prosecuted”.

The unbeaten Black Caviar (br m 4, Bel Esprit-Helsinge, by Desert Sun (GB)) took it all in her stride, posing with Barbary and Moody, both promoting Moody Racing by wearing its blue-and-white polo shirts and caps, before Barbary took her back to her secluded box, numbered ‘1’ of course.

Royal Ascot scout Nick Smith took the chance to say how wanted Black Caviar would be in England. He described his task of getting her there for June’s Group 1 sprints as a tough mission, but he would try to twist Moody’s arm and added that April onwards would see him make more annoying phone calls to the trainer.

By that time, after her autumn campaign, Black Caviar should be better known – at this stage, Smith said that for those overseas, she was all about promise, although Saturday could send warning signs abroad.

Mark Player (representing Hong Kong, but now based back in Melbourne) was heartened by hearing Moody mention Hong Kong as a possibility for the mare after she’d completed her home program – tentatively the Lightning, the Newmarket Handicap (depending on how others were weighted in comparison to her roughly 58 kilograms), the William Reid, the TJ Smith in Sydney and, in Brisbane, the BTC Cup and the Doomben 10,000, all Group 1s.

And Victoria’s recruiter Leigh Jordon mentioned again that as well as quarantine and prizemoney issues, the two words deterring potential international sprint challengers in Melbourne were, simply, Black Caviar.

The media get-together also allowed a spruik for the Global Sprint Challenge that incorporates the Lightning (referred to by Jordon as the launching pad for the series) and races in Japan, Singapore, England and Hong Kong.

But it was the mare and her liking – or otherwise – of a wet track, and the trainer’s assessment of opposition on Saturday (ie, Hay List), that interested most.

Moody said Black Caviar’s return to racing was exciting and daunting, and reminded people that she had won only one Group 1 race … but her jockeys had told him there was more in the tank (ie, she had not been fully extended despite her eight wins from eight starts), and he would be happy not to have to find out how much more!

He said her preparation had been faultless but the Flemington surface would not be ideal wet first-up, although that gave him “trainer’s insurance” if she were beaten. She has trialled and done track work in the wet, but had never raced on worse than a Dead 4. Flemington course manager Mick Goodie said he is gearing up a track rated Slow 6 or worse.

Of course, he respected Hay List, who with blinkers would be wound up – obviously he meant more wound up than Black Caviar – and being in better shape could offer the opposition he had not given in the supposed spring match race, the Group 1 Patinack Farm Classic (1200m) at Flemington, when he had been hurt in the lead-up.

Oh, and he tossed in an alternative, a handicap, the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield on February 26 if “cyclonic” circumstances forced Black Caviar to miss the Lightning.

thethoroughbred.com.au was among a small post-media conference group who were lucky enough to go through the ‘Survivors prosecuted’ gate with the trainer and a photographer who needed an extra, different shot of Black Caviar.

She was safely tucked up in Box 1, but came to the door when Moody called and obliged with a photo, a reporter’s five-year-old son perched on the half-door alongside her.

Black Caviar quickly lost interest and disappeared into the shadows, loudly kicking the wall. “She’s just about peopled out,” the trainer said.

Until Saturday, anyway, when she’ll be the people’s favourite … and odds-on to make it nine from nine.

Peter Moody today has shown just how fickle thoroughbred racing can be. Last Saturday he was on a high after winning feature races in Sydney and Melbourne, and by Tuesday, within a matter of hours, the Caulfield trainer had “lost” two of his stable stars.

First, Moody (pictured) announced that his unbeaten filly One Last Dance was to be scratched from the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), to be run at Caulfield on February 26. It was a brave decision by both Moody and owner John Camilleri as the filly was in line to collect a $1 million bonus if she could win the Blue Diamond.

But Moody said the filly was “flat” after her Prelude win at Caulfield last Saturday and had come to the end of her campaign. Camilleri, who also bred the filly, shrugged it off as you would expect from a man who has been in the racing and breeding game for a while – “Send her to the paddock,” he said.

The news that Typhoon Tracy’s career had come to sudden halt rushed through the Twitter world like a flash flood. “Is it true? Tell me it is not true!” one tweet blared.

But even before Typhoon Tracy won last Saturday’s Group 1 Orr Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield, Moody was hinting retirement for the mare – there were obvious concerns with the way she was progressing this campaign for the trainer to toss that around.

Immediately after the win – Typhoon Tracy had to battle hard to hold off Heart Of Dreams after a cosy run outside the leader Danzylum – Moody wasn’t impressed. He regained some confidence when jockey Luke Nolen felt the mare was a bit underdone, and, in fact, peaked on her run 100 metres from the line.

Moody was worried that Typhoon Tracy went into the Group 2 Australia Stakes (1200m, Moonee Valley, January 28) too fresh, and her hard run in finishing third behind Whitefriars had “flattened” her. He may have been too easy on her leading into the Orr to compensate.

But Moody is an astute horseman with a bush background. He’s a great reader of animals, and he sensed that Typhoon Tracy wasn’t at the brilliant best that saw her dominate in the 2010 autumn when she won three Group 1s on the trot, including her first Orr Stakes.

On Tuesday morning, Typhoon Tracy was sent out for a trot and a canter. Moody saw signs that his mare was still fatigued from her Orr win.

“She gave her absolute all in that race and is still fatigued 72 hours after the run,” Moody said, adding that the stable favourite hadn’t suffered a career-ending injury.

“We could have freshened her up for a tilt at the Brisbane winter carnival, but she’s achieved great things already so we’ve decided to retire her.

“She’s been amazing to me and I’ll be forever grateful for the success she gave me and her owners.”

He knew it was fruitless to attempt to get her to her top for the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 26, when a clash with More Joyous was to be an autumn highlight. To freshen Typhoon Tracy certainly meant missing the Sydney carnival, and there is little to be gained by targeting the Brisbane winter – the curtain was called on a brilliant career.

Typhoon Tracy retires with a record of 11 wins – six at Group 1 level – from 20 starts and a bank balance of  $2,438,000. She is the reigning 2009-10 Australian Horse of the Year.

Just as Makybe Diva retired so triumphantly after her third Melbourne Cup in 2005, Typhoon Tracy heads to the breeding paddocks fit and well and with nothing more to prove.