Coolmore Ireland Handbook 2020

MATING SUGGESTIONS: Caravaggio embodies all that was good about his sire Scat Daddy. Like Scat Daddy, he became a Gr.1 winner at two, but Caravaggio outperformed his sire by remaining unbeaten in four juvenile starts, including the Gr.2 Coventry Stakes and Gr.1 Phoenix Stakes. Caravaggio also followed his sire’s example by becoming a Gr.1 winner at three. He was winning for the sixth time in six starts when he defeated Harry Angel and Blue Point in the Commonwealth Cup. Caravaggio ranks alongside Lady Aurelia, No Nay Never, Sioux Nation, Acapulco, Seahenge, Skitter Scatter, Van Beethoven, So Perfect, Sergei Prokofiev and Daddy Long Legs among Scat Daddy’s 11 2yo Group winners in Europe. Between them they collected five of Royal Ascot’s 2yo Group races, in addition to two editions of both the Prix Morny and the Phoenix Stakes. Scat Daddy was once represented by as many as nine 2yo stakes winners in a single crop, with six scoring at Graded/Group level. This suggests strongly that Caravaggio has the perfect background to become a leading sire of fast and precocious juveniles. No Nay Never is similarly qualified and he ran out a comfortable winner of the 2018 first-crop sires’ championship. Other members of the Storm Cat male line have sired Gr.1 winners from daughters of DANEHILL , DANSILI and FASTNET ROCK . This is a route to follow with Caravaggio, as Scat Daddy has had success with the DANZIG male line. Also, No Nay Never has already sired good winners from mares by six individual sons of DANEHILL , including EXCEED AND EXCEL (Gr.1 winner Ten Sovereigns), ROCK OF GIBRALTAR (Gr.2 scorer Land Force), ORATORIO (Listed winner Servalan), FASTNET ROCK (Gr.2-placed Neverland Rock) and DANEHILL DANCER (Gr.1-placed The Irish Rover and Gr.3-placed We Go). Mares by KODIAC , CAMACHO , DANSILI , DUKE OF MARMALADE , DYLAN THOMAS , CLODOVIL , DANETIME and HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR all merit a chance with Caravaggio, as do mares by CHOISIR , MASTERCRAFTSMAN and ZOFFANY . The GREEN DESERT branch of the DANZIG line is also showing promise with No Nay Never. Daughters of CAPE CROSS and OASIS DREAM have produced Listed winners to him. Mares by INVINCIBLE SPIRIT and OASIS DREAM have obvious appeal with a top sprinter like Caravaggio, especially when Scat Daddy sired a Gr.1-winning 2yo from an OASIS DREAM mare. Mares by DESERT STYLE and KHELEYF are other options. Fast horses from the NUREYEV line could suit, such as daughters of PIVOTAL , EXCELLENT ART , CAPTAIN RIO and KYLLACHY . SIYOUNI could be especially suitable. No Nay Never has a Listed winner with a dam by PEINTRE CELEBRE and THEATRICAL sired the second dam of his Gr.1 winner Ten Sovereigns. CARAVAGGIO should suit mares by FOOTSTEPSINTHESAND , SHAMARDAL and LOPE DE VEGA . Scat Daddy’s flying daughter Lady Aurelia is inbred 4x3 to STORM CAT and his Gr.1 winners Valid Point and Harmonize are inbred 4x4. Scat Daddy also sired the Gr.1-winning 2yo Sioux Nation who is inbred to Storm Cat’s sire STORM BIRD . MR PROSPECTOR will be back in the fourth generation of Caravaggio’s foals. No Nay Never’s success with this line includes Arizona, a Gr.2 2yo winner in 2019, and his stakes winning sister Nay Lady Nay, they have a dam by ENGLISH CHANNEL , a son of SMART STRIKE . Another Gr.2 winner, Chestnut Honey has a dam by CHESTER HOUSE , whereas Celtic Beauty, who was second of 25 in a Gr.3 at Royal Ascot, has a dam by GULCH . Another line could be added by sending him daughters of RAVEN’S PASS , IFFRAAJ , TAMAYUZ and DUTCH ART . As Scat Daddy sired several good winners at around a mile and a quarter, headed by his magnificent and unbeaten 2018 American Triple Crown winner Justify, it is worth trying Caravaggio with mares by leading middle-distance performers, such as MONTJEU and HIGH CHAPARRAL . Caravaggio has at least 10 first-crop foals out of GALILEO mares and this should work well, as GALILEO has excelled with mares by Storm Cat and Johannesburg. No Nay Never, another son of Scat Daddy, sired the Gr.2-winning 2YO Shadn from a SADLER’S WELLS mare and the Listed winner Tango from a GALILEO mare. Expect to see Caravaggio make his mark with mares from the quick-maturing ROYAL APPLAUSE line, including those by his son and grandson ACCLAMATION and DARK ANGEL .

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