Caravel, a grey Mizzen Mast mare who scored a shocking 42-1 upset over males in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland last November, returned to Lexington, Ky., for Saturday's Grade 2 Shakertown, beating the boys again with a narrow front-running victory under Tyler Gaffalione.
The Brad Cox-trained 6-year-old covered 5 1/2 furlongs on firm turf in 1:02.58 after setting fractions of :21.86, :44.77, and :56.45. She paid $6.30 as the 2-1 favorite in the field of 12 veteran sprinters – all colts or geldings with the exception of Caravel.
Bad Beat Brian lived up to his name, finishing a head back in second at 40-1 odds, appearing to have the momentum in midstretch after putting his head in front before falling short.
“Great trip,” said Emigh. “I knew I was on the outside of the big favorite. I was going to stalk her and try and get her, and I got by her. I was a neck in front most of the lane. She kept fighting back and just refused to lose and caught me right at the last jump. I wanted to cry.”
Wesley Ward-trained Arrest Me Red, the 9-2 second choice, finished a half-length back in third, a nose ahead of Oceanic in fourth.
“I loved it (when she came back after being headed by runner-up Bad Beat Brian in the stretch),” said Gaffalione. “She showed so much heart there. She's a tremendous filly. I'm just lucky enough to be able to guide her around there. (Whether she wants the lead) depends on her break. She's a very alert filly. She jumped well today, so I didn't want to take anything away from her.”
Caravel, winning for the 13th time in 21 starts, is owned by Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables. She was bred in Pennsylvania by Elizabeth Merryman and was produced from the Contrats mare, Zeezee Zoomzoom.
Gaffalione gunned Caravel to the early lead, outrunning Artemus Citylimits and Mark of the Z, then was challenged by Bad Beat Brian and Chris Emigh entering the far turn. Those two raced as a team around the turn and down the stretch, with Arrest Me Red and Oceanic rallying late but never really threatening the top two.
Caravel is now a perfect 3-for-3 sprinting over the Keeneland turf, having won the G3 Franklin Stakes against fillies and mares last October before her wire-to-wire upset in the Breeders' Cup.
“It was nice to see her gutsy performance, said Qatar Racing owner Sheikh Fahad. “She did that in (winning) the Breeders' Cup (Turf Sprint-G1 at Keeneland last year), and she did it again today. It is very hard once you get headed to come back again, but it was nice to see and I think it bodes well for the future for her.
“It wasn't that difficult (to decide to come back this year after what she accomplished last season). My brothers and I had a chat and they want good horses running around the world. She fits the bill perfectly, so it wasn't that tough, to be honest.”
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