Cave Rock (foaled March 12, 2020) is an multiple

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winning American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse who won the

American Pharoah Stakes The American Pharoah Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of September during the fall meet at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade I event, it is open to two-year-old horses and is held at a distance ...

and Del Mar Futurity as a two-year-old.

Background

Cave Rock is a dark

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

or brown colt that was bred in Kentucky by Anne and Ronnie Sheffer Racing. He was sired by Arrogate, the 2016 American Champion three-year-old colt, in his second year at stud. Cave Rock is trained by trainer Bob Baffert who with bloodstock agent Donato Lanni selected Cave Rock for the partnership, which buys horses in the name of Three Amigos – Karl Watson,

Michael E. Pegram Michael E. Pegram (born February 16, 1952 in Fort Knox, Kentucky) is the co-owner of the 2010 Preakness Stakes winner Lookin at Lucky and owner of the 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Real Quiet. He grew up in Princeton, Indiana go ...

& Paul Weitman. They purchased the colt from Gainesway for $550,000 at the 2021

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

September yearling sale. His dam Georgie's Angel, won the 2011

Schuylerville Stakes The Schuylerville Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is contested at a distance of six furlongs on dirt. A Grade III event, it current ...

at Saratoga for the breeders of Cave Rock, Anne and Ronnie Sheffer Racing who were part owners of mare. Georgie's Angel has produced four winners from five starters, including three-time winner Take Charge Angel, an earner of $166,055. The mare has a yearling colt by Arrogate and a weanling filly by Improbable. She was bred to Connect this year. The name Cave Rock comes from a historical landmark near

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Racing career

2022: two-year-old season

Cave Rock began his career on August 13 at Del Mar Racetrack in a Maiden Special Weight event for two-year-olds over a distance of six and one-half furlongs facing eight other first-starters. Cave Rock started as the 6/5 favorite Cave Rock got bumped from outside at the start by Alexander Helios. He moved to the front and set the pace up the backstretch extending his lead around the turn and was coaxed lightly in upper stretch by jockey Juan Hernandez winning easily by six lengths in a time of 1:15.81. Cave Rock's next start was on September 11 in the

Del Mar Futurity at Del Mar over a distance of seven furlongs. From the start Cave Rock verged to the lead with Havnameltdown posting fractions for the first quarter-mile in :21.56 and the half-mile in :43.56. In the stretch, Cave Rock drew away from Havnameltdown winning by

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

in stakes record time of 1:20.99, surpassing the previous record by Declan's Moon of 1:21.29 in 2004. The Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert won his 16th Del Mar Futurity. With such a commanding performance Bob Baffert entered Cave Rock in the

at Santa Anita Park over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles. On October 8, 2022, Cave Rock was sent of as the 2/5 odds-on faced seven other entrants including three other Bob Baffert trainees. Cave Rock broke nicely set fractions of :22.96, :46.82, and 1:11.07 while the other Baffert runners ran behind him. Hejazi raced outside of National Treasure, and Gandolfini, who broke from the rail, remained on the inside. Cave Rock's early -length margin became lengths after six furlongs, and then Cave Rock's lead continued to increase winning by lengths in a time of 1:43.05, the fastest time since 2014 when American Pharoah won the event. By winning the

, Cave Rock qualified to the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...

since the event is a "Win and You're In" race for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Statistics

''Notes:''
An (*) asterisk after the odds means Cave Rock was the post-time favourite.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist, 2 2020 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 8-h American Grade 1 Stakes winners