Black Caviar, Supermare

Hearts broke when Blame outnosed Zenyatta at the wire in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic–and Saturday, in the Royal Ascot’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes, it looked like fans of the undefeated Australian supermare Black Caviar might suffer the same fate.

But the Peter Moody-trained mare, 5 years old by Australian standards (Australian Thoroughbreds celebrate a communal August 1 birthday, whereas US and European-breds age up January 1) and undefeated in 21 previous starts, dueled Moonlight Cloud to a photo finish, ultimately boosting her pristine record to 22 wins.

Even more impressive are the facts that jockey Luke Nolen eased up before the wire, possibly having misjudged the finish, and post-race scans revealed Black Caviar tore a quadricep mid-race. She’s currently in pre-departure quarantine before her return home to Melbourne, and with some rest and rehabilitation, should target a fall campaign.

Read more from the Daily Racing Form and the Telegraph. Go Black Caviar.