NEWS
Sidney’s Candy overpowering in San Vicente
Posted: Monday, February 15, 2010 9:00 PM
SIDNEY'S CANDY
Benoit & Associates photo
To view a video replay of the San Vicente Stakes, click here.
by Patrick Reed
Sidney’s Candy set a swift pace before unleashing an explosive burst of speed in early stretch en route to an overpowering win in the $150,000 San Vicente Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park on Monday.
The three-year-old Candy Ride (Arg) colt completed seven furlongs in a blistering 1:20.91 on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface and maintained his blazing speed well past the finish line, marking him as a serious contender for California’s upcoming Triple Crown prep races.
In his stakes debut, 2.10-to-1 favorite Sidney’s Candy led the seven-horse field through a half-mile in :45.50 and six furlongs in 1:08.62, followed by Tiny Woods, Classical Slew, and Quiet Invader. With modest urging from jockey Joe Talamo, Sidney’s Candy jetted away from his challengers at the quarter pole and settled matters well before the finish line, besting stakes-placed winner Tiny Woods by 4 ¼ lengths.
“At the three-eighths [pole], I just kind of clucked to him and he got right to the bridle,” Talamo said. “I just basically sat on him today and I couldn’t believe the final time—that’s awesome. It’s very exciting to have a horse of this caliber.”
Tiny Woods held on willingly to finish second, 1 ¾ lengths in front of stakes winner Classical Slew.
Sidney’s Candy flashed potential in his first career start with a close second-place finish to Tiny Woods in a 5 ½-furlong sprint at Del Mar on July 25 and then progressed nicely with a four-length win in August at the same venue and distance, setting a new track record of 1:02.71. Following a lengthy respite, Sidney’s Candy broke slowly in a six-furlong allowance race on December 30 at Santa Anita and finished a well-beaten fourth as the 3-to-5 favorite.
“In his last start, he had been off for four months and he was a little heavy and didn’t break,” trainer John Sadler said following the San Vicente. “We want him to do what he does, which is kind of bounce around a little bit with some natural speed. Once I saw him get rhythmic today, I knew we were going to be fine.
“I don’t know what’s next yet—we’re going to look at all the different races. The reason I didn’t want to go into an allowance race is because of the graded earnings for the Kentucky Derby [Presented by Yum! Brands (G1)]. He’ll be going around two turns next time, that’s for sure.”
Sidney’s Candy’s first stakes victory improved his record to two wins from four starts with $133,560 in earnings. Bred in Kentucky by owners Jenny Craig and the late Sid Craig, he is out of the Storm Cat mare Fair Exchange, a daughter of three-time Grade 1 winner Exchange, by Explodent.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Patrick Reed is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer
