Australian champion Black Caviar will be bred to champion sire Exceed And Excel for the 2013 Southern Hemisphere breeding season.
The mare's owners confirmed the planned mating July 23. Exceed And Excel stands at Darley's Kelvinside Farm in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales for a fee of $88,000 (Australian funds).
Black Caviar, by Bel Esprit out of the Desert Sun mare Helsinge, retired earlier this year undefeated in 25 starts. The 7-year-old mare, bred in Australia by Rick Jamieson, won 14 group I events and is a two-time Australian Horse of the Year and champion sprinter in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Exceed And Excel, a two-time group I winner by Danehill, was champion sprinter in Australia for the 2003-04 season. He was bred in Australia by Ascot Breeding Partnership.
Black Caviar Racing–owners Gary and Kerrin Wilkie, Neil Werrett, David and Jill Taylor, Pam Hawkes, and Colin and Jannene Madden–issued an official statement on the mating.
"It has been a very thorough, painstaking but enjoyable process," Gary Wilkie said. "Like all decisions with Black Caviar, we are very honored and extremely privileged to be the ones in this predicament."
The owners said the decision came down to a number of factors, including Exceed And Excel being by champion sire Danehill and his already proven bloodline with the champion mare's family: Group II winner Wilander was sired by Exceed And Excel and is out of Black Caviar's granddam, Scandinavia.