Velazquez 26th Winner for Caravaggio
Caravaggio is ending 2021 the way he started it after Velazquez (2g Caravaggio x Pandora, by Galileo) became his sire’s 26th winner in England when breaking his maiden for owner and breeder Sir Robert Ogden.
The seven furlong Newcastle race saw Velazquez never far from the lead and sitting in second going into the final three furlongs. Jockey Robert Havlin took the gelding to the front with just over a furlong left to go and the race was on.
Velazquez had to hold off Gleneagles’ Glens Top Cat but did just that to visit the winner’s enclosure after a nose victory.
Velazquez is trained by John and Thady Gosden and out of the stakes performing Galileo mare Pandora. Pandora herself is a Sir Robert Ogden-bred as well.
The mare was Group III-placed and is the dam of two winners from two to races. Velazquez’s second dam is Footstepsinthesand’s three-time stakes winner Song of My Heart, who produced three stakes performers with all by Galileo.
Each of Velazquez’s first five dams are either stakes performers or stakes producers.
Pandora has a yearling No Nay Never colt named Hamlet and is in foal to Mastercraftsman.
Caravaggio has the most stakes performers and graded stakes performers of any freshman stallion at eight and four respectively and has the second most winners of any freshman. He’ll stand his second season at Coolmore America for $35,000 in 2022.