It wasn't an incredible Cinderella story.
There was none of the drama that could be found in the story of a teary-eyed greenskeeper who came out of nowhere to find himself at the final hole, on the verge of becoming the Masters champion, and then miraculously put his final shot in the cup.
Instead, it was a much more mundane tale of a lopsided, highly expected victory by a 3-year-old colt whose name will turn heads each time it is uttered.
With nary a gopher in sight to distract him, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' four-legged Carl Spackler hosed his competition in a Feb. 25 maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park, mowing them down by 8 3/4 lengths and teaching them a little lesson about morality and what it's like to be a decent, upstanding member of society.
And, yes, the horse is indeed named for Bill Murray's goofy greenskeeper in the comedy classic "Caddyshack."
"That was my idea," e Five owner Bob Edwards said about the homebred 3-year-old's famous name. "I had been waiting to use that name for a while. This colt was bred in Ireland, so I kind of snuck it in and didn't really have to ask permission to do it."
The fun-loving Edwards has been a huge fan of "Caddyshack" since he first watched the 1980 smash hit on a VHS tape as a kid. Like millions of other loyal fans of the movie over the years, Edwards began memorizing the hilariously delivered crass comedy lines from Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Chevy Chase, and, of course, Murray as Carl Spackler, who spent the bulk of the movie trying to exterminate a wily gopher who always outsmarted him.
"Licensed to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations," the disheveled Spackler muttered to himself while preparing to hunt down the ever-elusive critter at the fictional Bushwood Country Club. "A man, free to kill gophers at will. To kill, you must know your enemy, and in this case my enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit—ever. They are like the Viet Cong. The Varmint Cong."
Edwards knows all of the classic lines from the movie that lampoons life at an uppity country club and is looking forward to seeing how creative that track announcers, broadcasters, turf writers, and racing Twitter can be in weaving the movie's jokes into mentions of the son of Lope de Vega.
"It's a classic and a part of my vocabulary. I have a Bushwood Country Club hat that I wore to the track last year. I'll have to break it out again for him," Edwards said. "There were so many great characters in the movie, and it's going to be a lot of fun seeing what people do with it. I thought (Gulfstream track announcer Pete Aiello) and the television crew did a great job with it on Saturday."
Aiello was well prepared to detail the easy victory at 1-5 odds that were no laughing matter in Carl Spackler's second career start for trainer Chad Brown.
"Carl Spackler says, 'OK, I guess we're playing for keeps,' " Aiello said as the Irish homebred surged to the front in the stretch of the mile turf race, borrowing one of Murray's lines from the film ranked 71st on the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest American Movies of All Time. "I guess the kidding around is pretty much over!"
Much like the actor who played the character, Carl Spackler could have a blockbuster career ahead of him after running to his regal pedigree in Saturday's romp. Putting a head loss in his Jan. 21 debut behind him, Carl Spackler's lopsided win in a quick 1:34.13 under Jose Ortiz already has his connections thinking about the May 6 American Turf Stakes (G2T) at Churchill Downs as a spot where he can tee off and perhaps mimic the heroics of Edwards' past stars such as Rushing Fall, Good Magic , and New Money Honey.
"Historically we don't overrace our horses, and Chad does a great job of mapping out campaigns, so I hope he has a bright future and can make us relevant again," Edwards said. "We're super happy with him. We thought we had something special going into his first race and he really delivered this past weekend. We're hoping to have a few years of fun with him."
Brown said it has been a while since he last watched "Caddyshack," but he loves what he has seen from Carl Spackler.
"He's a horse that always trained with a lot of promise," Brown said. "It took a little while for him to come around after some minor aches and pains as a 2-year-old. Nothing serious, he just needed time. Now he's put together two good races in a row and it looks like he'll be running in stakes from now on.
"We'll nominate to the Transylvania (Stakes, G3T, April 7 at Keeneland) and it's not out of the question that he can run there, but think it's more likely I'll give him some time and wait for the American Turf. As the year goes on, I believe he'll be able to stretch out."
Carl Spackler had a special place in Edwards' heart even before the Hollywood name was bestowed on him. He's out of the More Than Ready mare Zindaya, who provided Edwards with his first victory as an owner in 2016. She paved the way for the wave of success that followed with three Breeders' Cup wins, two Eclipse Awards, more than 120 victories, individually and with partners, and acclaim as the owner of the year by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association in 2017.
"She got us started," Edwards said about Zindaya.
Agent Mike Ryan bought Zindaya as a grade 3-placed 4-year-old on behalf of Edwards for $550,000 from the Three Chimneys Farm consignment at the 2015 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Turned over to Brown, she won the 2016 Intercontinental Stakes in the second start for her new connections and added a victory in the Goldikova Stakes (G2T) later in the year before becoming a broodmare.
Edwards, who breeds under the banner of Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, has about 20 mares in the United States and Ireland. He sold Zindaya's first foal, a Frankel gelding named Tribal Wisdom who was bought by Godolphin for $381,686 at the 2020 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Trained by Charlie Appleby, the 4-year-old is winless in four starts with three seconds.
Fate was kinder to Edwards than it was to The Bishop in "Caddyshack" when Zindaya's second foal as Carl Spackler failed to meet his $499,172 reserve price at Tattersalls October.
"He wasn't as shiny as he should have been at the sale, so sent him here to the United States to Ian Brennan at Stonestreet to get him ready to race for us," Edwards said. "Both Ian and Chad loved him."
Zindaya's third foal, a Frankel filly who is now 2, was also bought by Godolphin, selling for $541,171 at Tattersalls October. Her most recent foal is a yearling full sister to Carl Spackler.
As auspicious as Carl Spackler's maiden win may have been, much more will be learned about him when he tangles with graded-stakes rivals. He should be a natural for the Caesars Turf Triple in New York, a trio of $750,000 summertime stakes for 3-year-olds, and to say he has a bright future is no joke—unless, of course, he sees a gopher.
