Caravaggio back home after early success at sales

The international Coolmore operation has a long and storied history of developing the careers of jet-setting stallions around the globe. It’s a legacy that promising young stallion Caravaggio is looking to add to. Twice a winner at the renowned Royal Ascot meeting, the son of Scat Daddy stood his first three seasons at Coolmore’s Irish headquarters. Off a strong international reception in the sales ring, Caravaggio moves to Coolmore’s Ashford Stud in Kentucky in a homecoming of sorts as his first foals prepare to race this season.

Caravaggio was bred in Kentucky by the Petaluma Bloodstock of Ashford director of sales Charlie O’Connor, in partnership with his father-in-law, Richard Imbert, owner of Windmill Manor Farms. The colt went on to race for Coolmore in Europe, winning 7 of 10 starts. As a juvenile, he won the Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and later won the Group 1 Phoenix in Ireland. He was again a multiple group stakes winner at 3, highlighted by another Royal Ascot victory in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup. He entered stud for Coolmore in 2018.

“Caravaggio is a horse we always wanted to stand here at Ashford,” O’Connor said. “He was born here, and we begged to have him here as a stallion. We finally got him in his fourth year. He has been incredibly well received and is oversubscribed with a quality book of mares, as would be expected with a good-looking son of Scat Daddy with a top race record and American pedigree to back it up.

The best sons of Scat Daddy – including 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify – went to stud after their sire’s death in 2015, when his star was still very much on the rise. That dynamic has helped create high commercial demand for his sons, and Caravaggio has been no exception.

The stallion averaged $132,259 from 64 first-crop yearlings sold worldwide last year. That included a breakout performance from a small contingent at the Keeneland September yearling sale, no doubt influencing the decision to move him to America. Caravaggio was represented by six yearlings that sold for an average price of $212,833 at North America’s largest yearling sale, ranking third by average among first-crop sires and trailing only Eclipse Award champions Gun Runner and Arrogate.

Caravaggio hails from an American-based pedigree. Scat Daddy, a multiple Grade 1 winner on dirt during his own racing career, went on to be a popular sire on multiple surfaces and on both sides of the Atlantic. Caravaggio is out of the Holy Bull mare Mekko Hokte, a minor stakes winner on dirt at Louisiana Downs. She also is the dam of Grade 2-winning dirt sprinter My Jen.

Caravaggio’s return to Kentucky gives Ashford three sons of its late resident Scat Daddy, as the young stallion will stand alongside Justify and Mendelssohn, both of whom have first yearlings this year.

“This line and the legacy it has created means a lot to Ashford,” O’Connor said. “The very first stallion to stand here was Storm Bird, whose son Storm Cat was heavily patronized by Coolmore. Through Storm Cat, we got Tale of the Cat, the late, great Giant’s Causeway, and of course, Hennessy, whose son Johannesburg is the sire of Scat Daddy. Now with Justify, Mendelssohn, and Caravaggio we are onto the sixth generation of a line that is synonymous with Coolmore America, and we look forward to seeing that legacy continue to produce champions.”