Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint: Caravel still on track for repeat bid
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It was 10 years ago that a zippy gray mare became the first horse ever to win back-to-back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, at Santa Anita, no less. A decade later, the popular gray Caravel is headed to Santa Anita to attempt to add her name to the list of doubles, and will be one of several shades of gray in this starting gate.
Since the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint was added to the program in 2008, the two-time winners of the race are the mare Mizdirection in 2012 and 2013, and Stormy Liberal, who earned a divisional Eclipse Award, in 2017 and 2018.
Caravel won the 2022 Turf Sprint at Keeneland in the midst of a five-race win streak that included another Grade 1 against males, the Jaipur at Belmont. That streak came to an end when she caught a soft turf course in the Grade 3 Troy in August at Saratoga, finishing a one-paced fourth.
Trainer Brad Cox immediately wrote that race off due to the turf conditions, and Caravel was given a brief freshening before coming back in the Grade 2 Franklin at Keeneland last Sunday, the same prep she won en route to the Turf Sprint last year. Although she was defeated, Caravel showed a much sharper effort, as she was more forwardly placed and dueled through the stretch before finishing second by a neck to another gray mare, Tony Ann. The turf course was officially rated good for the Sunday race, after rain in the area overnight Friday into Saturday morning, and regular rider Tyler Gaffalione said Caravel “really struggled with the ground a bit.” Still, Cox was pleased with the effort.
“Good run, just came up a touch short,” the trainer said. “I am proud of the effort. … Breeders’ Cup is definitely still something we are pointing towards. We’ll see how she comes out of this race and go from there.”
Caravel is scheduled to ship to Santa Anita on Oct. 30.
Meanwhile, Tony Ann returns to her home base in California having finally prevailed in a close finish in her third start of the year. The mare was beaten a half-length when second in the Daisycutter at Del Mar, then less than that when third in the Grade 2 Ladies Sprint at Kentucky Downs.
Pennsylvania-bred Caravel could be joined in the starting gate by another gray filly bred in the Keystone State. Roses for Debra, a graded stakes winner at Saratoga, suffered her first loss of the year when third in the Grade 3 Turf Monster against males on a yielding course that was not to her liking. Her status for the Turf Sprint, which may draw an oversubscribed field, is likely to depend on how much of a mulligan the Breeders’ Cup selection committee gives her for the course conditions next week, when pre-entries are taken and race preference is established.
Shaking up the Turf Sprint picture, one top mare was removed from consideration when the connections of multiple Group 1 winner Highfield Princess announced that she would pass on the Breeders’ Cup to instead target top-level competition in Hong Kong late in the season.
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