We have all been known to get a trifle impatient with Australians and their hubris about sporting prowess.

Television commentators insinuating that their cricket and rugby mates are so obviously superior is, well, mildly irritating.

But the Aussies may actually be onto something when they rave about the unbeaten sprinter Black Caviar. I read a few Australian papers this week after the giant mare's 18th victory in a row on Saturday. They've gone gaga about her, saying she's probably the fastest horse ever Down Under.

Some reckon she's better than Phar Lap, the legendary racehorse that is an indelible part of Australian national lore. Ye gods, some even take The Don's name in vain in striving for metaphors of excellence.

To give some sense of Black Caviar's impact, on Saturday, when she doddled the Orr Stakes at Caulfield, more than 20000 people were there to shout her home - many dressed in the salmon and black colours of her owners' silks - at a race meeting that usually draws just a few "pie eaters" (hard-core punters).

Aussie journalists don't have the ANC's tomfoolery to cover and are forced to look for interesting stuff to write about. So Black Caviar has been a boon, even though she has nothing to do with a bigwig eating fishy delicacies off a naked woman.

Still, it's heartening to see Australian journos upholding journalistic traditions and parading their dofness. One reporter asked Black Caviar's trainer, Peter Moody, if the mare would beat Phar Lap in the next Caulfield Cup. It had to be pointed out that the cup is a long-distance marathon not on the speedster's itinerary - and Phar Lap has been dead for 79 years.

But the racing hacks do know their oats, so to speak, and they say this mare is far superior to the likes of Choisir, Takeover Target and Miss Andretti - Australian sprinters who conquered England's Royal Ascot in recent years.

We know Aussies are nuts about racing, but I was intrigued to read that their form analysis goes as far as counting horses' strides over 100m sections. Black Caviar took 12, 12, 13 and 13 strides over a final 400m recently, six fewer than her nearest rival (13.5, 13.5, 14, 15), indicating she uses less effort and doesn't tire as quickly.

Black Caviar is due to race again tomorrow, in the Lightning Stakes. And she might tackle another big race just one week later - to hopefully bring her unbeaten victory total to a record 20 before she heads overseas.

Then, en route to Royal Ascot, Dubai's World Cup meeting in March is a possibility.

Bookies are laying odds on a mooted clash in the UK with British wonder horse Frankel.

It would be a sensational showdown between the world's two top-ranked horses - and a hugely intriguing one, depending on the race distance chosen: he is peerless over a mile and she is blinding over shorter.

TURFFONTEIN TOMORROW: PA - 1 x 1,6,8 x 1,9 x 4,5 x 7 x 2,4,8 x 3,6,7 (R108)