Black Caviar trainer Peter Moody opens up on his turbulent career

FROM the highs of training the great Black Caviar to the controversial end of his career over the drawn-out cobalt saga, Peter Moody opens up on his turbulent career.

Trainer Peter Moody. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

• Still marvelling at Bert’s brilliance

PETER Moody is one of Australian sport’s most remarkable stories. After the recent release of his autobiography he tells Robert Craddock of his rise from humble origins in Wyandra, the highs of training Black Caviar and the lows of the controversial end of his career over the drawn-out cobalt saga.

You mentioned in the book that Black Caviar was attacked by a swarm of bees a few days after her famous win at Royal Ascot in England. That must have been panic stations?

I wasn’t there at the time but the bees swarmed her. The poor bugger. She was exhausted and injured and then along came those bees. In my mind I was going to retire her at that point but she ended up having three more runs.

You’ve revealed how badly injured she was before that controversial run where she just fell in to win. Nerve-racking stuff?

Had it been up to the vet she would not have started and had it been in Australia she would not have started. But I backed her ability to overcome those setbacks and she did.

Peter Moody. Picture: Russell Shakespeare

After Black Caviar won in England you could have partied with the rich and famous but your car broke down and you got stuck in the car park. How was that?

We could have gone to the Savoy but we ended up eating soggy cucumber sandwiches and every can of hot piss we could find. Not a bad way to celebrate mind you.

You have always loved your military history. What was it like to walk the Kokoda Trail this month?

It was very humbling. To walk in the footsteps of the 39th battalion from Victoria and experience in a very minor way what those blokes went through 75 years ago. They were the blokes who went up there and had to try and stop the onslaught of the Japanese. We were walking along with water and food and we did it tough, so I could only have imagined how hard those bastards did it.

Do you have a particular military hero?

John Monash for sure. Probably the greatest Australian who ever walked but because he had a German-Jewish background, he probably did not get the recognition for it.

Moody with the great Black Caviar. Picture: Darren England.

What did you like about him?

He had a philosophy where he was not using soldiers as cannon fodder.

He put the Aussies, Kiwis and Canadians together and made them fight as mates.

What about those early days at Wyandra where you had a group telephone line where neighbours could listen to each other’s calls?

I wasn’t old enough to appreciate it but I always remembered the conversations where neighbours used to listen to each other’s conversations.

They say you would hear the little click to let you know a neighbour had hung up. Sounds like good old-fashioned espionage?

Exactly.

You speak quite candidly in the book about your father being an alcoholic. I know you enjoy a drink but it seemed to be a warning to you?

Alcoholism was a strong trait in my family. I wanted to make sure I did not go down the same path. Dad was a good horseman and all-round a bloody good bloke but he became an alcoholic. It was bloody sad.

When you went from the bush to Tommy Smith you mentioned there was a tangible rivalry between him and Bart Cummings. Could you feel that rivalry?

There was always a rivalry between the stables. Don’t tell me there would not be a rivalry between a DK Weir and a Chris Waller. I know when I was training when I first got going I had a lot of mates and all the support in the world but when I became top dog, it got a lot lonelier.

Did you find it hard being the man being chased?

I think some people take a different tack to your success and what you are doing. In Australia we have this unbelievable theory if someone is doing well and driving a Merc you think ‘who did he rob?’ where the rest of the world say ‘look at that bloke, he has done enormous’.

Was there anything you learnt from TJ Smith?

One thing I have learnt is that if you have a big team of horses you have to have systems in place. That was probably the main thing.

You said in your book that Nathan Tinkler wanted to buy Black Caviar at any cost. What would he have paid?

Who would know. Four or five million? John Singleton was the first one. He said no one would sell a horse like that but I want to buy half of her. Then Tinkler came along and he said he wanted to buy her by hook or by crook.

Peter Moody with jockey Luke Nolen. Picture: Getty Images

Was there any time when the pressure of training Black Caviar threatened to drive you mad?

I remember saying to (wife) Sarah one time “if this thing gets beat one day it won’t be a bad thing because it would just be another horse”. But you would never want her to lose that mantle of invincibility.

You mention that Luke Nolen never watched a replay of his ride on Black Caviar in England. He got heavily criticised didn’t he?

It was the biggest shame of her career that there was so much talk over Luke’s ride that day but people had no idea of her condition at the time and how good the horse she beat was. Moonlight Cloud then came out and won four Group Ones.

You wrote about the incident where stewards thought about putting a spy in your stable. You sounded happy about that?

They do all the drug tests and they had so much history on me that I did not cheat and yet they were going to do that. Why do you have all these drug testing things in place if you have to go to that sort of length? You are allowed to be good but you are not allowed to be too good.

Do you still look back in anger at the cobalt charges you faced?

I am bitter at the way my career ended. I always said I was going to back-pedal a bit and I was dirty the way it finished but I have moved on.

You seem much happier now. Will you train again?

I have always said I would never say never but at the moment it is the furthest thing from my mind. I am enjoying doing different things and enjoying life.

You can read about the highs and lows of Peter Moody’s turbulent career in his just released autobiography A Long Way From Wyandra (Allen and Unwin $34.95).

Originally published as Black Caviar trainer Peter Moody opens up on his turbulent career