More Than Ready among potential mates for Black Caviar

Popular shuttle sire More Than Ready is among the short list of stallions still being considered for Black Caviar's first mating in the upcoming Southern Hemisphere breeding season.

The owners of two-time Australian Horse of the Year Black Caviar, who was retired in April after sweeping all 25 of her career starts, told the Daily Telegraph that the mare will most likely be serviced in Australia and that a decision on her first mating will be made within the next three weeks. The Southern Hemisphere breeding season begins in September.

"We definitely won't be going to [European Horse of the Year] Frankel because we don't want to go to a first-year stallion," managing owner Neil Werrett said. "But that doesn't mean there's [not] another overseas stallion we're considering. There are six stallions we're still considering. Five of those stand locally, while the other one is [overseas]. If the overseas stallion stood locally, we'd be very keen to go to him.

"But because he's overseas, we're reluctant to travel. There are quarantine issues, and there are so many good stallions in Australia."

More Than Ready, a 16-year-old son of Southern Halo, is among the Australian sires under consideration. The horse is based at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., and shuttles to spend the Southern Hemisphere season at Vinery in Australia.

The Grade 1-winning millionaire is the sire of 1,042 winners, including 120 stakes winners, for total earnings of $97,537,173 to date. He has sired a number of top-class horses in both hemispheres, including Breeders' Cup winners Pluck, More Than Real, and Regally Ready and Australian champions More Joyous, Sebring, and Phelan Ready. His son Verrazano entered the Kentucky Derby undefeated and off of a win in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial, but was unplaced in the classic on May 4.

Black Caviar, a 6-year-old Bel Esprit mare, bankrolled $7,497,754 while earning both Horse of the Year and champion sprinter honors in Australia in 2011 and 2012.

Werrett said that Black Caviar was currently enjoying retirement at an undisclosed location in Victoria to avoid media fanfare.