Black Caviar bids to extend her flawless record to 23 wins Saturday morning by gunning for a hat-trick of successes in the Group 1 Lightning Stakes at Flemington in Melbourne.
The seven-year-old mare has not run since scraping home in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot in June, after which there were fears her career was over.
Australia's darling recovered over the northern hemisphere autumn from the torn muscles she suffered when holding off Moonlight Cloud at the royal meeting and has blossomed since resuming full training in September.
After a racecourse trial last month in which she saw off eight rivals, trainer Peter Moody said Black Caviar has "prepped brilliantly. I haven't had her in this condition for a few years. ... She goes into the race in terrific order.
"It's satisfying to have her back because the day after she won in England, I thought that was it.
"But she's proved us wrong and also proved that we weren't kidding ourselves by giving her another preparation."
Moody has been coy about future plans for Black Caviar but hinted that a return to Ascot may not be totally out of the question.
"The only reason I thought she might make the trip would be if the owners thought about her going to a stallion like Frankel and being served to southern hemisphere time," Moody told the Melbourne radio station RSN.
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