Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The Black Caviar family enjoyed another significant week on the track, with champion mare Black Caviar featuring as the grandam of two impressive maiden winners.
Ready Forcocktails (Snitzel) broke through in dominant fashion at Kensington last Wednesday before Panchenko (Street Boss {USA}) produced an outstanding debut performance to score by more than five lengths at Bendigo on Sunday.
Both fillies are prepared by Michael, John and Wayne Hawkes and, judging by their performances, appear capable of progressing to stronger company. The Thoroughbred Report caught up with co-trainer Wayne Hawkes to discuss the pair and the stable's ongoing success with one of Australian racing's most celebrated families.
Panchenko delivers an explosive debut
Taking on a field of largely unraced juveniles over 1000 metres, Panchenko entered her debut following two recent Flemington trials, including an impressive trial victory, with Beau Mertens taking the ride.
She flew the gates to cross and sit outside the leader, travelling strongly throughout before quickly putting the race beyond doubt over the final furlong, surging clear to score by an ever-widening five lengths.
For Hawkes, the result was especially rewarding given the patience shown by the ownership group.
“Two very nice winners over the last week, the owners have been very patient in keeping their Black Caviar dream alive,” Hawkes said.
“The owners have been very patient in keeping their Black Caviar dream alive.” - Wayne Hawkes
“Panchenko's always shown good ability, she is a lovely relaxed quiet horse with a good attitude. She's a beautiful little filly to do anything with.
“She's not overly big, but she's really a lovely filly that's always shown ability and the owners will be very happy because they raced Black Caviar and these are all the granddaughters and grandsons they're bringing through now. It gives them great memories about Black Caviar.”
While impressed by the manner of the victory, Hawkes felt the testing conditions also played an important role.
“The biggest thing on Sunday was the Heavy 10 track, so you have to handle the track and to be fair a lot didn't handle the track. If she didn't handle the track, she would have got beat by five, not won by five. So you're a little bit flattered by handling the wet track, which I'm not upset about, because half the year it's wet, so now we know there's no problems there.
“You hardly ever get a wet track in January, February or March in Melbourne. But in the rest of the country, I've seen The Everest run on wet tracks and then in the autumn, it's wet in Sydney as well.
“So I don't mind having a wet track with her, I don't mind wet tracks if I'm honest.”
Wayne Hawkes | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
The stable will now take a patient approach before deciding whether the promising filly races again this preparation.
“There's the race in two weeks, two and a half weeks and three weeks' time. So she'll run in one of those or she'll go in the paddock. I just want to see how she is and how she pulls up before making any decisions and if she's not right, she'll obviously go in the paddock.”
Bred and retained by Mr NJR Werrett, Mrs P Hawkes, C & J Madden, as is the case with Ready Forcocktails, Panchenko is the fourth winner from four foals to race out of Oscietra, the first foal of Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) and a winner by Exceed And Excel.
Panchenko is the first filly from Oscietra, whose previous three winners are all geldings. She also has a yearling colt by Anamoe, while she was served by Coolmore Stud's Private Life last September.
Ready Forcocktails lives up to her pedigree
The beautifully bred Ready Forcocktails became another winner for her illustrious family when the 3-year-old filly produced a commanding victory over 1150 metres at Kensington last Wednesday for Team Hawkes and Tyler Schiller.
Having settled just behind the speed, Schiller eased the filly into the clear before she quickly accelerated, storming away to score by just under three lengths.
Hawkes said the performance reflected the ability the stable had always seen at home.
“Ready Forcocktails has always shown a fair bit of ability but hasn't produced it. So it was good for her to produce it last Wednesday to show what she's always shown us at home.”
Winning jockey Tyler Schiller admitted the stable had always held the filly in high regard.
“She has always shown so much at home,” Schiller said after the race.
“We sort of expected a bit more before this run, but she obviously ran into a nice enough 2-year-old last start, and last prep she probably didn't have a couple of things go her way.
“Today she (Forcocktails) found the right race to get a bit of confidence under her belt.” - Tyler Schiller
“Today she found the right race to get a bit of confidence under her belt. She hasn't got a long sprint so you can't really expose her at the top of the straight but I was surprised how strong she ran through the line considering she usually sprints for about 200 metres.”
Tyler Schiller | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
In recent years, Ready For Caviar has produced the 2-year-old Snitzel filly Ready For Sure who the Hawkes team also train, a weanling colt by Snitzel and, unfortunately, slipped to Farnan from her most recent mating.
Black Caviar's legacy at stud
The champion mare, winner of 15 Group 1 races, produced eight foals before her death in August 2024 - five fillies and three colts.
Her first foal, Oscietra, was a dual winner over 1000 metres and metropolitan placed at Flemington. Her second foal, Prince Of Caviar, was also a winner over 1000 metres and metropolitan placed before retiring to Riverbank Agistment in Victoria, where he has so far sired 10 winners.
Black Caviar | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Her third foal, Out Of Caviar (Snitzel), retired unraced, while her fourth foal, Ready For Caviar (More Than Ready {USA}), was placed on the track.
Her fifth foal, Invincible Caviar (I Am Invincible), proved her most successful on the track, winning four races up to 1200 metres before sadly dying in November 2023. Invincible Caviar's full brother, I Am Caviar (I Am Invincible), has been a dual winner.
Her second-last live foal, Persian Caviar (Written Tycoon), has been a dual winner, while her youngest foal, 2-year-old colt Golden Caviar (The Autumn Sun), is in work with Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.
Of Black Caviar's five fillies, three are now breeding, including the dams of the two recent winners - Oscietra and Ready For Caviar, along with Out Of Caviar.
With young progeny by leading stallions including Anamoe, Exceedance, I Am Invincible, and Snitzel still to emerge, there remains considerable depth and upside within the family.
A family rich in elite performers
While Black Caviar headlines the pedigree, the family has long been recognised for producing elite performers across multiple generations.
Close relations include Group 1 winners All Too Hard, Nepotism (Brutal {NZ}), Magnus and Ole Kirk, along with Group 3 winner Gimmie Par (Not A Single Doubt).
Further back in the pedigree sits the outstanding producer Scandinavia (Snippets), a Group 2 and Group 3 winner who was also multiple Group 1 placed. Her progeny included Group 1 Galaxy Handicap winner and successful sire Magnus, Group 2 winner and sire Wilander and Group 2-winning juvenile Scandiva (Fastnet Rock), who in turn produced Group 3 winner Maximillius (Written Tycoon).
Hanseatic is another stallion to emerge from the family.
Hawkes Racing Team | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Having trained numerous members of the pedigree over the years, Hawkes said each horse had developed its own personality.
“They are their own. Panchenko's very quiet. Some of the progeny of Street Boss can be a bit keen and strong, but she's a lot more quiet and relaxed than Ready Forcocktails.”
The stable has also enjoyed significant success with several of the family's male performers.
“We have had three Group 1-winning colts from the family with All Too Hard who is doing a really good job and flying in Hong Kong, he has had the likes of Behemoth and Alligator Blood who was a really good horse.
“The Ole Kirks are only 3-year-olds, they are only young, so he is doing a really good job and Nepotism won a Group 1 for us, he hasn't got his chance at stud yet and he is by Brutal and the Brutals just keep winning races every week.
“It's a family that keeps on producing top class performers and a steady group of winners and we love training them.” - Wayne Hawkes
“It's a family that keeps on producing top class performers and a steady group of winners and we love training them.”
