Caravel pulls away to victory in Franklin Stakes

Caravel was as good as ever Sunday when pulling away to a 1 3/4-length victory in the Grade 3, $263,000 Franklin Stakes at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

A perfect trip was quick to unfold for Caravel, a handy 5-year-old mare who now has won 11 of 19 starts while continuing a steady rise into the elite ranks of filly-mare turf sprinters. The gray daughter of Mizzen Mast returned $6.88 as a lukewarm favorite in a field of 11 when finishing the 5 1/2-furlong distance in 1:02.59 over firm going.

With leading jockey Tyler Gaffalione settling her into a prime stalking from post 2, Caravel angled out for the drive before kicking ahead of a late run by 19-1 shot Thundering Creed that got second by a nose over Star Devine.

“Right from the start, she took me everywhere we needed to go,” Gaffalione said. “The mare ran a great race.”

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Twilight Gleaming, winner of the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, was another length back in fourth as the 5-2 second choice after disputing all the pace to the furlong pole.

Caravel is a Pennsylvania-bred owned by Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel, and Madaket Stables who has won $811,152. She has won four times in seven starts, all stakes, for Brad Cox, who assumed her care after she first was trained by her breeder and former owner, Elizabeth Merryman, who ran her 10 times prior to turning her over to Graham Motion for three races in graded company, ending with a 12th-place finish last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Caravel is entered in the Keeneland November Breeding Stock sale following the Breeders’ Cup. Whether she’ll run again in the BC Turf Sprint when the race is renewed Nov. 5 at Keeneland, Cox said: “It’ll ultimately be up to the owners. We’ll talk to them about it.”

The $2 exacta (2-9) paid $135.84, the $1 trifecta (2-9-1) returned $368.70, and the 10-cent superfecta (2-9-1-6) was worth $219.57.

Keeneland is dark Monday and Tuesday. Action resumes Wednesday with an eight-race card to mark the midpoint of a 17-day fall meet that runs through Oct. 29.

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