Photos of Caravel by Courtney Snow for Past The Wire
Breeders’ Cup Press Release
~ Sheikh Fahad
~ David Redvers
THE MODERATOR: We have Qatar Racing Sheikh Fahad and David Redvers. Incredible run by the mare. She was coming off a runoff of Keeneland so you had confidence she was comfortable here but going up against a short-price favorite like Golden Pal what gave you the confidence to come here?
SHEIKH FAHAD: Thank you very much, first. Brad is the one who gave us a lot of confidence. She has been working really well. As he said working, she’s been working as best as he’s ever had her. That gave us a lot of confidence. Watching her in the morning gave us a lot of confidence. Tyler, having Tyler on board is it’s amazing really. He is one of the most gifted jockeys I’ve seen and thankfully he’s on our side and not against us.
THE MODERATOR: He rode her last time right here at Keeneland and he’d been on her previously. But very sharp away from the gate today. I know she’s shown speed before but not that pace away from the gate.
SHEIKH FAHAD: She’s shown speed before she’s versatile she can lead or sit off them. And after she broke that well today, there was one place to be and that’s the lead.
And thankfully she just kept going. And when the other horse came upside her, she just found another few lengths, which is fantastic to see.
THE MODERATOR: The horse that came up the inside, seemed like that gave her more competitive spirit to kick back in again.
SHEIKH FAHAD: She’s a fighter. She’s a real, true fighter. It’s fantastic to see that.
THE MODERATOR: David, tell us a little bit about the partnership involved in Caravel.
DAVID REDVERS: A huge amount of credit to Fergus Galvin and the team Hunter Valley. Marc Detampel has been a long-time partner and a great friend. There’s nothing quite as much as fun as doing it with friends, and we’re very lucky to have great friends, great resources with Sheikh Fahad. And it’s all about the party now.
SHEIKH FAHAD: Absolutely.
THE MODERATOR: What are the plans for her going forward?
SHEIKH FAHAD: She’s in the sale; we’ll have to discuss with the partnership and Fergus and Marc and Brad, and we’ll see what’s going on. She’s improving, which is going to make it very tough trying to sell her or keep her. But we’ll see.
THE MODERATOR: Hard to let one go after a race performance like that.
SHEIKH FAHAD: Exactly.
Q. Could you give us a little bit more background on how you acquired this mare, how you found her, and what was so attractive about her at the time?
SHEIKH FAHAD: Well, we found her through Fergus Galvin, who is our racing manager here, helps us in America. He’s really been following the filly and loved her. And Brad really loved that filly.
And when she came to the sales, we went to see her. We thought there was improvement there to be had. And that’s why we went and got her. Thankfully we were the ones that got her.
Q. Going into the race, were you anticipating that you were likely to be in a stalking position right off Golden Pal and suddenly it was things just unfolded very differently?
SHEIKH FAHAD: Absolutely. I think that’s the scenario we looked at. But we give Tyler free rein to do whatever he wants. Any jockey, to be honest, that rides for us gets that instruction to do, once the gates open, whatever they feel is correct, they do.
And yes, we did anticipate Golden Pal to be up there. And it changed our game plan completely, really. I think the scenario that he wanted was Golden Pal in front and we were stalking him and then pouncing on him.
But it’s tough to be out there from gate to wire. And she’s a tough filly to do that.
Q. You all have sponsored races all over the world, including Breeders’ Cup. Just put it into perspective winning one of those races.
SHEIKH FAHAD: It’s fantastic. That’s what the operation’s all about, is trying to win races around the world, biggest races, biggest meetings. And thankfully we’ve been very lucky to have had winners everywhere around the world. And this is our first Breeders’ Cup winner. Very excited, very happy to have that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
