When Karavas won the Group 3 Ottawa Stakes (1000m) at Flemington, Richard Jolly knew he had a smart filly on his hands, and the formlines surrounding that win offers Jolly reason to be excited for her return in Saturday’s Listed Dequetteville Stakes (1000m) at Morphettville Parks.
Karavas stormed to an impressive one-length win on Oaks Day down the Flemington straight, defeating Hayasugi (fourth), Eneeza (second) and Arabian Summer (third), all horses that went on to impress in the summer months.
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“Hayasugi won the Blue Diamond, and the horse of Peter Moody’s (Eneeza) ran pretty well,” Jolly, who trains in partnership with daughter Chantelle, said.
Jolly’s filly was on track for her own tilt at the Group 1 Blue Diamond (1200m) crown, before illness thwarted her campaign, leaving connections to ponder what could have been.
“She got a bit crook when we had her in going for the Blue Diamond,” he said.
“Nothing serious, she just got a bit of a virus, she just wasn’t well enough to continue and push on against that kind of level – you can’t have anything go wrong (at that level) so we gave her three weeks off.
“The form has been really strong out of that race she won (Ottawa Stakes), it’s been a bit frustrating that we haven’t got her back to the track, but it’s just the way (it goes) and her welfare is the priority for us.”
Now with a clean bill of health, Karavas is ready to pick up from where she left off, as the Jolly camp eyes another stakes win on Saturday with regular hoop Jake Toeroek to resume his partnership with the filly.
“She had a jumpout this morning (Tuesday), I’m quite pleased with her, she jumped out against the older horses and won the jumpout,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to seeing her back out there again, this morning she looked to me as if she went well.
“We’ve got these races in Adelaide up our sleeve so there’s a fair bit of improvement to come with her – she acquitted herself well this morning.”
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It looms as an exciting time for those involved with Karavas, and they are sure to discover how high her ceiling can go, with more back-type success well and truly on the agenda.
“We are looking forward to the next 12 months with her and seeing what she can do,” Jolly said.
“She’s a pretty mature two-year-old, she might’ve got a bit stronger, she’s a bit heavier than she was when she won at Flemington, she’s probably just thickened up that bit more with maturity.
“I think she came back about 30kg heavier from the paddock after that little break – she’s just broadened out that bit more.”
Karavas is currently a $2.40 favourite on TAB in early betting, ahead of the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman-trained Lincolnshire at $4.
Originally published as Boom filly Karavas set to return in Dequetteville Stakes at Morphettville