High Expectations for Caravaggio’s First Foals
As Scat Daddy fever continues to grow, so too does the popularity of his sons, no better demonstrated than by the quality of mares sent to ‘the Ballydoyle Bullet’, Caravaggio, in his first season at stud. Of the 187 mares due to foal by the unbeaten two-year-old this Spring, an impressive 48% of them are black-type performers and/or producers.
In fact, 14 of his in-foal mares boast both accolades, including multiple Group 1 winner Peeping Fawn, also known as the dam of Chesham Stakes winner September, later beaten just a nose in the G1 Fillies’ Mile. Caravaggio covered another top-tier mare in Immortal Verse, a dual Group 1 winner on the track, and whose three-year-old colt Battle For Glory (War Front) is sure to excite this coming season. Another Group 1 winner in foal is top-class sprinter Airwave who has already produced three Stakes winners, one of which was Queen Mary Stakes second Meow, herself now the dam of Champion 2YOs Churchill and Clemmie.
Con Marnane has a winning half-sister to champion sprinter Marchand d’Or in foal to Caravaggio, Adam Bowden supported him by breeding a winning half-sister to Dutch Art and Philip Hore Jnr is awaiting a sibling to Prince Of Lir. Among the racecourse stars soon to have siblings by Caravaggio are Hong Kong Sprint hero Peniaphobia, dual Group 1 winner La Collina, Middle Park Stakes victor Astaire, Dewhurst Stakes winner Beethoven and top-class two-year-old The Wow Signal.
Caravaggio’s appeal has reached far and wide, with many international breeders sending quality mares to the Group 1 sprinter. From Canada, David Anderson sent a half-sister to both Grade 3 winner Necessary Evil and to the dam of Cornwallis Stakes victor Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy). Alain Jathiere is also working with a proven cross by having sent Chant De Sable, whose No Nay Never yearling sold for 260,000gns in October. Other big names from around the globe to have supported Caravaggio in his first season include Gestüt Fährhof, Runnymede Farm, Haras du Cadran, Katsumi Yoshida and Akira Katayama, His Highness the Aga Khan, Juddmonte Farms, Norelands Stud and the Niarchos family, to name just a few.
His sire is not the only attraction of Caravaggio’s pedigree, being bred out of the sprint Stakes winner Mekko Hokte, herself a daughter of Horse Of The Year Holy Bull. His half-sister, My Jen, was unbeaten as a two-year-old and won a Grade 2 sprint at three. Ryan Moore described Caravaggio as the best two-year-old he’d ever sat on after his impressive Coventry Stakes victory, after-which he annihilated his opposition in the G1 Phoenix Stakes to remain unbeaten as a juvenile. His defeat of subsequent Group 1 winners Harry Angel and Blue Point in the G1 Commonwealth Cup the following season proved the flying grey was more than just a talented juvenile. On looks, pedigree and performance, Caravaggio ticks all the boxes!