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.

What do Sacred Choice, Palacio de Crystal and Prima Nova have in common?

They are the only females to finish ahead of Typhoon Tracy in a race.

Trainer Peter Moody raised the point when asked about Typhoon Tracy’s likely clash with star Sydney mare More Joyous in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield on February 26.

Moody doubted a mare had finished ahead of Typhoon Tracy in her 20 starts, but later corrected himself when he remembered Sacred Choice had beaten his great mare on a heavy track in the Group 1 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on Derby day in the spring.

A further study of Typhoon Tracy’s record shows that Palacio de Crystal (10^th) and Prima Nova (13^th) finished ahead of her in the 2010 Group 1 Doncaster Handicap (1600m, Randwick) last April – Typhoon Tracy came in an eased-up 14^th behind Rangirangdoo.

Typhoon Tracy ($2f) held on gamely to win her second Group 1 Orr Stakes (1400m, Caulfield) on Saturday – the first time a mare has won the race twice. Moody, after discussion with jockey Luke Nolen, said the mare might have gone into the race underdone.

“Luke said she peaked at the 100 metres, so I think I have been too easy on her in trying to get her sprint back after the spring when she was trained to be more dour for the Cox Plate,” Moody said on Sport927.

More Joyous ($1.30f), after a cosy run tracking her run-along stablemate Montana Flyer, easily won the Group 2 Breeders Classic (1200m) at Randwick on Saturday. More Joyous recorded a tremendous, brave win in the Group 1 Toorak Handicap (1600m) at Caulfield in the spring, so she has had a good experience around the tricky track.

The clash of the two star mares is likely to prove even more thrilling than next Saturday’s much-billed dice between Black Caviar and Hay List in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington.

Photo: Sacred Choice beating Typhoon Tracy in the Group 1 Myer Classic at Flemington in the spring.

Breeding lines:

Typhoon Tracy (b or br m 2005, Red Ransom (USA)-Tracy’s Element, by Last Tycoon (IRE)).

More Joyous (b m 2006, More Than Ready (USA)-Sunday Joy, by Sunday Silence (USA))

Last year Typhoon Tracy (pictured) won the CF Orr Stakes in a canter, beating Heart Of Dreams. The race was run as expected, with Danzylum leading and Typhoon Tracy parked on his back and Heart Of Dreams right with them. The race also included Zipping and Shocking, both resuming from highly wins in the spring.In the run to the line, Typhoon Tracy had too much class.

Twelve months on and we are faced with Groundhog Day, a race of almost identical composition and likely to be run exactly as it was in 2010. The field includes all the horses just mentioned. Danzylum, like last year, comes off a good form line in Listed races – winning the Barton Stakes and Chester Manifold Stakes (last year he won the Barton and was second in the Chester Manifold) – and he will lead. Typhoon Tracy and Heart Of Dreams, from good barriers, will be tracking him.

The big differences this year are (a) Melbourne’s fickle “summer” weather; (b) the inclusion of Typhoon Tracy’s talented stablemate Doubtful Jack into the mix; (c) the brilliant Group 1 class mare Ortensia; and (d) a fresh Trusting who just might run to his best form after a torrid nine-start winless spring campaign.

The weather is the key. Track manager Jason Kerr said on Thursday that he expects a dead4 rating, despite the threat of rain. A storm hit Thursday night (6.5mm fell at Caulfield), and up to 50mm is expected on Friday – whether it falls at Caulfield is another thing.

Trainer Peter Moody said he doesn’t want a slowish track for Typhoon Tracy, but on the other hand such a track is ideal for Doubtful Jack, who showed last winter that he is a “duck”.

The early tactics of the Moody pair will be interesting. I expect Doubtful Jack, a Listed winner first up in Tasmania, to roll forward and sit outside Danzylum, giving Typhoon Tracy a perfect trail into the race. I know others will expect the mare to take it up to Danzylum.

Typhoon Tracy hasn’t won for 10 months, but her campaign, as it was last autumn, is more geared to races up to 1600 metres, so I expect her to be more forward, after her solid first up run at Moonee Valley – than she was in the spring when she was being trained for longer distances.

Trainer Mick Price said he doubts Heart Of Dreams can win. Such a pessimistic attitude is unlike Price, but I think he is selling his game little horse short. Heart Of Dreams loves Caulfield, handles the sting out of the track and he will get a cosy run behind the pace.

Ortensia is the interesting runner. I have done well laying her in big races in the past 12 months, but I think trainer Tony Noonan has got it right by quickly getting her to 1400 metres. She will have more tactical speed at this trip after a sound fourth behind Whitefriars in an unsuitable Australian Stakes (1200m, Moonee Valley) in which Typhoon Tracy finished third.

Another horse that I have had a good time “potting” this season is Trusting, but this talented horse goes best fresh, as he did in the spring when he ran a couple of Group 1 seconds at Randwick.

The tips: Typhoon Tracy 1, Heart Of Dreams 2, Doubtful Jack 3, Ortensia 4, Trusting 5, Danzylum 6.

The impressive Lohengrin, a debut 10-length winner today at Ballarat, is likely to be compared with another Darley star, Denman.

But first let’s have a look at Lohengrin’s Group 1 pedigree.

Lohengrin is by the great Lonhro from the mare Suede (by Quest For Fame (GB)), a daughter of Woodlands Stud’s brilliant Group 1 winning mare Shame, by Scenic (IRE) from the imported mare Shamayil (USA), who in turn is a daughter of the champion racemare Kilijaro (IRE), by African Sky (GB), who won Group 1 races in France and North America.

Shame won the 1995 Group 1 QTC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm, before returning from a spell to win the Group 1 One Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield in the spring of that year.

It took a while for Shame to find her feet as a broodmare, and it wasn’t until her smart son Demerit won the 2009 Group 3 Guineas Prelude (1400m) at Caulfield that she recorded her only Stakes winner from six named foals.

Suede is Shame’s second foal, born in 1999. Unfortunately for her owners, Darley, she died in February 2010 after leaving only three foals. Her second foal, after Lohengrin, is a 2YO filly, Blaize (by Commands), and she has a 2009 colt by Flying Spur.

The Lonhro-Quest For Fame cross has previously produced the Stakes winner Serenissima, the Stakes-placed duo Khas Kura and Tromso and the multiple winners Shatters, Buona Fortune and Crunches.

Lohengrin ($2.10 fav), looking a bit like Lonhro’s best son Denman in both style and dark brown colour, showed great pace to lead at Ballarat, before charging away to win eased down by jockey Mark Zahra – second favourite Domesky (by Domesday) ran home from near last for second.

It will be interesting to see if trainer Peter Snowdon considers that Lohengrin is mature enough for some tougher spring assignments, including the Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m, Flemington) in March, a race that eluded Denman when he started $1.60 favourite last year.

Denman, like Lohengrin, started his career modestly with a maiden 2YO win at Kilmore in June 2009 before winning his next two starts at Flemington and Sandown. He returned from a short break to dominate the early spring in Sydney, winning three times, including the Group 1 Golden Rose (1400m, Rosehill) and the Group 2 Stan Fox Stakes (1400m, Randwick) before finishing seventh ($2.10 fav) behind Starspangledbanner in the Caulfield Guineas (1600m).

Denman won his first three starts in the autumn before again failing when stretched to 1600m, but he failed to finish off his race in the Australian Guineas, coming in fourth at behind Rock Classic. He was sent to Europe but didn’t race there before returning to stand at stud at Darley in the Hunter Valley last spring.

Lohengrin also may be too brilliant to run a strong 1600 metres, although his pedigree suggests that distance is a perfect fit. Then again, he may not be a Denman, but a Reset, a horse who emerged in the autumn with five unbeaten starts, including the Group 1 Futurity Stakes and the Australian Guineas in 2004. That’s a story only time will tell.

Photo: Denman (Kerrin McEvoy) in full flight at Rosehill.