With the Nov. 1 and 2 Breeders’ Cup World Championships coming toward the end of a long and challenging season, success at Del Mar will have everything to do with timing.

Some horses will show the wear and tear of the campaign and be unable to fire their best shot. For others, everything will come together at the precise moment when it is needed most.

While his path to the Breeders’ Cup has been anything but easy, including life-saving intestinal surgery due to a severe case of colic, everything about Carl Spackler’s story has that right-on-time feeling. He rolls into the $2 million FanDuel Mile Presented by PDJF for Bob Edwards’ e Five Racing Thoroughbreds with six victories in his last seven starts as part of a spree culminating in consecutive Grade 1 triumphs.

Bob Edwards hoists the Coolmore Turf Mile trophy. (Coady Media)

The 4-year-old, bred in Ireland, will always hold a special place in Edwards’ heart. Carl Spackler’s More Than Ready dam, Zindaya, provided e Five with its first winner. Edwards sent her abroad for a mating with accomplished sire Lope de Vega in hopes of producing a superior turf horse.

“We’ve had great success with turf horses. I like breeding turf horses,” Edwards noted. “I think you might get a little more longevity out of them.”

He and Chad Brown, the preeminent turf trainer in the United States, are looking to extend the success they have enjoyed on Breeders’ Cup grass. New Money Honey marked their first Cup winner together when she captured the 2016 Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita Park. They combined to win the same race with Rushing Fall a year later at Del Mar, which was hosting the World Championships for the first time. Edwards partnered with Stonestreet, the breeder, when Good Magic proved to be plenty good enough in the Juvenile that same season.

Those successes stemmed from hefty yearling purchases. It would be especially sweet if Carl Spackler could follow their lead as a homebred in what is very much a family affair. Tyler Gaffalione, his jockey, is married to Edwards’ daughter, Cassidy.

Carl Spackler showed vast potential from the time he arrived at Stonestreet Stable in Ocala to be broken. “As a 2-year-old, he acted like an older horse on the track,” said Ian Brennan, a Stonestreet trainer. “Like a lot of the good ones are, he was very forward and very professional.”

Edwards decided to have some fun with the name. Carl Spackler is best known as the gopher-obsessed assistant greenskeeper played by Bill Murray in the 1980 comedy “Caddyshack.”

Despite encouraging early reports, Edwards made the prospect available at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale. Brennan thinks weakness in the colt’s hind legs kept him from meeting his $499,172 reserve.

Edwards was soon delighted by the sale not made. Carl Spackler, unraced at 2, broke his maiden at second asking, going one mile on the Gulfstream Park turf, and he did it in style. He roared off by 8 ¾ lengths.

He followed his smashing victory with an uncharacteristic eighth-place finish in the American Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs but rebounded to sweep his final two starts at 3 in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes and the Saranac Stakes. Both were at Saratoga.

The connections then shipped him from New York to Kentucky and looked to step up with a race at Keeneland. That was not to be. Carl Spackler developed a serious case of colic and eventually required intestinal surgery at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington.

Edwards went from the high of knowing he had a 3-year-old that was on the verge of accomplishing big things to wondering whether the horse had any kind of future.

“You’re always concerned they don’t come back,” he said.

Edwards credits Brennan for playing a large role in one of the great comeback stories this season. Brennan combined the use of an Equicizer with a jogging regimen in the early going of what was a meticulous three-month process.

“He had plenty of foundation before I started galloping him again,” Brennan said.

Tyler Gaffalione and ‘Carl’ have a special bond. (Eclipse Sportswire)

It all paid off. The chestnut colt has been victorious in four of five starts this season while boosting his lifetime earnings to $1,568,475 through 10 starts in all.

Carl Spackler gives every indication that he is just beginning to show what he can do. He was as patient as could be for Gaffalione when he sat second in the Aug. 11 FanDuel Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga before taking command and scoring by 3 ½ lengths. His success in his first Grade 1 opportunity secured a fees-paid berth in the FanDuel Mile.

He made it to Keeneland without incident this time and displayed versatility by taking an early lead in the Oct. 5 Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes and then holding off More Than Looks by one length.

“He just seems to be getting stronger, more confident in himself, more confident in his ability,” Gaffalione said. “He just keeps finding more.”

Edwards is grateful to have his son-in-law on his side. “It’s unbelievable to have a high-caliber jockey who is also a family member. It’s a big win for us,” he said. “We get to talk to him quite a bit about the horse. Obviously, he’s as excited as we are.”

Assuming the resilient Carl Spackler maintains his form, Gaffalione expects him to be right there in the Mile. “Obviously, he’s coming in off two big performances. He’s run against top horses, so I’m not really too scared of anyone,” he said. “I just hope for a good draw and a clean trip and let him do the rest.”

If this emerging talent that once appeared to be star-crossed enjoys good fortune, there may well be a family celebration deep into the Del Mar night.