2022 Eclipse Awards: Caravel
The story of Caravel already had plenty of layers to it, even before she stunned the racing world by winning the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint as a 42-1 outsider.
Caravel won on debut as a 3-year-old at Penn National in June 2020 for Elizabeth Merryman, who bred, owned, and trained the gray daughter of Mizzen Mast. For Merryman, not only would Caravel become the Pennsylvania-bred horse of the year for 2020 by winning 4 of 5 starts, but she also became a graded winner the following year in winning three of her first four tries, ending with a 2 1/2-length triumph in the Grade 3 Caress on the Saratoga turf.
Merryman had sold majority interest in Caravel about six weeks before the Caress, and the filly ultimately was turned over to another trainer for her last three starts of 2021. She then was purchased for $500,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky mixed sale in November 2021 by Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel, and Madaket Stables before being turned over to Brad Cox for the 2022 racing season.
:: Full list of 2022 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories
After winning the Queen at Turfway Park in March in her first start for Cox, Caravel then was sixth against males in the Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs. She then won the Grade 3 Intercontinental on the Belmont Park turf in June; finished ninth as the favorite when trying to repeat in the Caress at Saratoga in July; won the Smart N Fancy on the Saratoga turf in August; was fourth as the favorite in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters over a synthetic surface; and won the Grade 3 Franklin over the Keeneland turf in October when rallying from just off the pace.
“Right from the start, she took me everywhere we needed to go,” jockey Tyler Gaffalione said following the Franklin.
Then came another try against males in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Nov. 5 at Keeneland. Dismissed at long odds in a full field of 14 that included heavily favored Golden Pal – whose poor start dramatically altered the expected outcome – Caravel sped to the front down the backstretch under Gaffalione and never looked back, turning back all challenges and prevailing by a half-length over Emaraaty Ana. Her $87.78 win mutuel was among the highest in Breeders’ Cup history.
“She was running back in 20 days but had a race over the course,” Cox said. “She’d had a hard time keeping on weight, but since the end of the summer, she’s really blossomed. We decided to take a swing.”
Caravel, a daughter of the Congrats mare Zeezee ZoomZoom, earned $930,983 from her eight starts in 2022, bringing her career total to $1,331,152. She has won 12 of 20 overall starts.
Cox said a 6-year-old campaign is in the works for Caravel, with a return to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita the year-end goal. She was scheduled to return to training by late January at Fair Grounds.
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