MATT STEWART reports in the HERALD SUN that Moody always has insisted he would never put Black Caviar at risk unduly -- which could happen with travel -- and his attitude to the world stage is: "Why don't they come to us?"
Yesterday he said Black Caviar would be overseas now, with a different trainer, if connections had accepted numerous recent "astronomical" offers from billionaire stables to buy the mare.
He said Black Caviar's owners had rejected one offer of $5 million.
Moody admitted yesterday that defeat at Royal Ascot five years ago had left him with a burning desire to return and win.
And there is an extra incentive -- $12 million in prizemoney and bonuses attached to the Global Sprint Challenge.
Any horse that can win three of the nine GSC races staged in seven countries in a calendar year will claim a $1 million bonus.
All of the GSC races -- highlighted by the two run in Japan, each for $2.3 million -- are worth a minimum of $500,000 and an average of about $1 million.
Moody said Lee Freedman's joyous reaction to Miss Andretti's King's Stand Stakes win in 2007 -- Moody's Magnus ran third -- reinforced the career-capping status associated with winning at the world's great carnivals, particularly Royal Ascot.
A representative from Royal Ascot arrived at Moody's stables three weeks ago in a bid to lure him there this year, but was knocked back.
"I was there with Lee that year," Moody said. "Lee is a very measured man who doesn't get excited about much, but I saw how much it meant to him.
"That has always stuck with me. Whether it's her or another horse, I've always wanted to go back and I'd like to give Black Caviar that opportunity."
But Moody stressed that the world stage was on the far horizon for Black Caviar, the official world champion sprinter -- her first international foray probably would be the Hong Kong International Sprint at Sha Tin in December.
If Black Caviar won in Hong Kong, then set the Magnus record straight by winning the 2012 King's Stand, Moody would be well on the way to securing the $1 million bonus.
Then, the Golden Jubilee Stakes and July Cup, both GSC races, would be on Black Caviar's British agenda.
"Look, all of this might be considered, but it all depends on whether she returns at the right time in good form," Moody said.
For now, he is happy to play at home, starting with the William Reid Stakes at Moonee Valley on March 25.
Black Caviar will then have one run in Sydney, in the T J Smith Stakes at Randwick, before returning to Moody's home state, Queensland, for the BTC Cup and Doomben 10,000.
Moody said her sprint targets would be identical to last year -- three runs, culminating in the Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington.
STORY SOURCE: MELBOURNE HERALD SUN - NEWS LIMITED.
