A solid hit out against the older horses at Tuesday morning’s jump outs has unbeaten two-year-old Karavas ready to roll first-up in Saturday’s $120,000 Listed Dequetteville Stakes (1000m) at Morphettville.
The Richard and Chantelle Jolly-trained Karavas hasn’t raced since winning the Group 3 Ottawa Stakes at Flemington on Oaks Day and has returned in good order after the stable were forced to abandon a Blue Diamond campaign earlier in the year.
“She’s good,’’ Richard Jolly said on the Front Runner Podcast.
“We had her ready trying to get to the Blue Diamond but things went a little pear shaped, she got a virus. She had a break and we concentrated on the Adelaide Carnival.
“She had a jump out on Tuesday and I was quite happy with what I saw.
“She went against the older horses, Jake (Toeroek) asked her to do a bit and she went well,’’ he said.
The Ottawa Stakes has proven to be a strong form race.
Runner-up Eneeza won the Listed Merson Cooper at Caulfield at her next start before running third behind subsequent Golden Slipper runner-up Coleman in the Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes.
The third horse Arabian Summer won her next two including the Ballarat Magic Millions before she finished fifth behind boom colt Storm Boy in the $3m Magic Millions 2yo Classic on the Gold Coast while Hayasugi won her next three starts in Preview, Prelude and $2m Blue Diamond at Caulfield.
“She’s beat the Blue Diamond winner that day and another Stakes winner of Peter Moody’s,’’ Jolly said.
“The form from an early two-year-old race has really stood up,’’ he added.
The stable is planning a three-run preparation for the filly who will go to the Breeder’s Stakes over 1200m in two weeks’ time, races classy stablemate See You In Heaven was successful in in 2022, before running in the Group 3 David Coles over 1200m on Goodwood Day.
“She’ll probably have the three runs,’’ Jolly said.
“They are the logical races and then we’ll look at the spring,’’ he said.
