MGISW Caravel Retired, Date With Justify Scheduled

GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint heroine Caravel (Mizzen Mast) was retired to Kentucky's Hunter Valley Farm by the ownership group of Qatar Racing, Madaket Stables and Marc Detampel, and will be bred for the 2024 season to Justify, as first reported on the Lancaster Farming website by Mid-Atlantic Horse correspondent Sam Cavalieri.

Bred by Elizabeth Merryman and raised on her farm in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, Caravel is heading to the breeding shed after she RNA'd for $2.4 million at the Keeneland November Sale.

“The ownership group has very much kept me in the loop and it's been a lot of fun enjoying her successes,” said Merryman, speaking to Cavalieri. “I'm so glad that she's at Hunter Valley because I know the way she has wintered there the last few winters. She's loved it there.”

Caravel earned nearly $2 million as a 15-time winner, which included her longshot performance in the 2022 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. The ownership group decided to race her as a 6-year-old this year, and she rewarded them with three more stakes wins, including another Grade I victory against the boys at Belmont Park in the Jaipur S.

“Caravel always has been a little bit of a freak of nature,” Merryman told Cavalieri. “She's incredible. She puts so much into her racing but from day one she had so much personality and talent. She's a once in a lifetime horse.”

Her dam Zeezee Zoomzoom (Congrats) was also set to be sold at the same Keeneland November, but Merryman couldn't part with her life-changing mare.

“It might not be the best business plan, but it was the right move for me,” Merryman told the publication. “The mare owes me nothing and she is really, really happy where she is. I didn't want to put her through the stress of shipping somewhere new. I was worried she might not take it that well and it might be really hard on her. I promised her a good life and didn't want to go back on it.”

The 11-year-old is currently in foal to Justify and has also produced the MSW Witty (Great Notion), who is bred, owned and trained by Merryman.

The post MGISW Caravel Retired, Date With Justify Scheduled appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

MGISW Caravel and Dam Zeezee Zoomzoom Entered In Keeneland November Sale

Consigned by Hunter Valley Farm, agent, MGISW and MGSW Caravel (Mizzen Mast), who has earned nearly $2 million, and her dam, Zeezee Zoomzoom (Congrats), who is in foal to Justify, have been cataloged to Book 1 of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale on Nov. 8, the sales division said in a release Friday afternoon.

“Both Adrian and I are delighted to be selling such a unique package on the same day,” Fergus Galvin of Hunter Valley said. “We feel both will complement each other well. Obviously Caravel is a world-class turf sprinter, and her dam, Zeezee Zoomzoom, is in foal to Justify, who is having a phenomenal year. We're delighted to be selling this pair.”

Campaigned by Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables, Caravel scored a half-length victory against the boys in the 2022 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland during a five-race win streak that began a few weeks earlier on the same track in the GIII Franklin S. Earlier this year, the 6-year-old mare defeated males again in both the GII Shakertown S. and the GI Jaipur S. at Belmont Park.

“Keeneland is excited to welcome back a star the caliber of Caravel, who turned in some of her most memorable performances here and, as a three-time stakes winner, raced into track history,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “Both Caravel and her dam, Zeezee Zoomzoom, will attract global attention from owners and breeders.”

Caravel is the first foal out of 11-year-old Zeezee Zoomzoom, who scored her maiden victory on the turf at Saratoga. The mare, who also produced multiple stakes winner Witty, by Great Notion, has four winners from four starters.

“She's not a big mare herself,” said Caravel's breeder, Elizabeth Merryman, about Zeezee Zoomzoom, “but she throws very big foals that are very correct, lovely, good movers – she's a really good mover. They all get a lot of natural speed from her. Some of them want to go long, and some want to sprint. They're really talented, smart, lovely horses that are well put together. I love the nick to Justify; I think it's just right for her.”

The catalog for the November Breeding Stock Sale will be posted Oct. 3.

The post MGISW Caravel and Dam Zeezee Zoomzoom Entered In Keeneland November Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights