NEWS
Sidney’s Candy flashes speed, versatility in Sir Beaufort
Posted: Sunday, December 26, 2010 7:33 PM
SIDNEY'S CANDY
Benoit & Associates photo
by Mike Curry
Sidney’s Candy delivered a powerhouse victory in the $150,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes (G3) on Sunday’s opening day card at Santa Anita Park, setting a torrid pace under Joel Rosario and scooting away in the stretch to a 7 1/4-length romp (video).
The three-year-old Candy Ride (Arg) colt flashed an exciting combination of speed and versatility as he completed the off-the-turf one-mile race in a blistering 1:33.70 to become a graded stakes winner on three surfaces.
“He’s a really good horse and he likes to run free and easy,” Rosario said. “Even though he went fast fractions, he just kept going.”
Sidney’s Candy won the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on the synthetic Pro-Ride surface at Santa Anita Park in April. He won the Sir Beaufort on the newly installed dirt track at Santa Anita, which was rated as fast on Sunday, and rolled to a 5 3/4-length score in the La Jolla Handicap (G2) on the turf at Del Mar in August.
Trained by John Sadler for owner The Craig Family Trust, Sidney’s Candy broke alertly and went right to the lead. He set the pace with Indian Firewater pressing from about a length behind through an opening quarter in :22.45 and a half-mile :45.03. He pulled away through six furlongs in 1:08.45 and surged to a commanding lead under a hand ride in the stretch. The winning time was three-tenths of a second off the track record of 1:33.40 set by Ruhlmann on March 5, 1989.
“It’s pretty to watch down the lane, isn’t it?” said Larry Benavidez, assistant to Sadler. “He can do it all.”
Sidney’s Candy improved to six victories from 11 career starts, including five wins in eight races in 2010. He boosted his earnings to $893,560 with the Sir Beaufort win.
Four horses were scratched from the race once it was moved from the turf to the main track. The Sir Beaufort also was automatically downgraded to a Grade 3 race because of the surface switch pending an evaluation by the American Graded Stakes Committee.
Indian Firewater held on gamely in the stretch to edge Nextdoorneighbor by a half-length for second.
Bred in Kentucky by Jenny and Sid Craig, Sidney’s Candy is out of the Storm Cat mare Fair Exchange. Sidney’s Candy’s sire Candy Ride, who stands at Lane’s End in Versailles, Kentucky, also is the sire of Twirling Candy, who set a track record for seven furlongs in a victory in the Malibu Stakes (G1) immediately following the Sir Beaufort.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
READER COMMENTS
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Posted by: Lexi, WAKEFILED, MA on December 27, 2010 at 02:04 PM
Can blitz opponents in these California raceS but gets blown away by Goldikova in the BC...
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Posted by: don, hayward, CA on December 26, 2010 at 08:12 PM
Smiling Tiger ran too good to lose. But Twirling Candy looked like god in post parade. What a really really good horse.
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