The world’s top-rated sprinter and 2022 Royal Ascot winner Nature Strip is the headline act in Saturday’s (18 February) G1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m), which tops the nine-race card to be simulcast from Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne.

With World Pool status, following an agreement reached between the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Australia’s Tabcorp, the meeting will attract huge betting pools; a worldwide television audience and many international visitors who’ve attended the 39th Asian Racing Conference in Melbourne this week.

“I congratulate Racing Victoria and the Victoria Racing Club for being the first-mover in Australia – for being so bold and embracing the World Pool concept, which has been embraced by racing customers globally and has created significant benefits for participants in these events,” said Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Most attention well centre on Nature Strip, who’s won 22 races including nine at Group 1 level, and prepared for his first assignment of 2023 with an unofficial trial win – beating Roch ’N’ Horse and stablemate September Run – down the Flemington straight track on 10 February.

“That’s exactly what we wanted to see,” trainer Chris Waller said after the workout.

His rivals will include the two horses who finished behind him in the Flemington gallop. Mike Moroney-trained Roch ’N’ Horse won two Group 1 races down the Flemington straight course in 2022, including the G1 Darley Champions Sprint (1200m) where she had the better of Nature Strip by a head; and September Run, who was second to Nature Strip in the 2021 Black Caviar Lightning.

“She’s come back in super order and they’ll definitely know she’s there on Saturday,” said jockey Jamie Mott who rides Roch ’N’ Horse.

Leading jockey Craig Williams picks up the ride on Matthew Smith-trained Buenos Noches, who will be well fancied given the excellent record of three-year-olds this season.

Buenos Noches was beaten a nose by Giga Kick in the G2 Danehill Stakes (1100m) last October, two weeks before the Williams-ridden three-year-old Giga Kick beat all comers including Nature Strip in the world’s richest turf race, The Everest (1200m).

“We know this horse (Buenos Noches) is very effective down the straight, Matthew is happy with the way that he’s trained on and he’s got within a nose of Giga Kick for goodness sake,” Williams said.

Queenslander Baller, who’s won and been placed in his only three runs down the Flemington straight, won a barrier trial on Tuesday (14 February) before heading to Melbourne.

“He’s got the right straight form to say he’ll run very well but whether he can beat Nature Strip I don’t know because on his day he (Nature Strip) is the world’s best sprinter,” said trainer Tony Gollan.