Candy Boy’s steady rise to upper echelon of the California 3yo class continued with animpressive score in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G2) on February 8. The John Sadler-trained colt sat off a good early pace under Hall of Fame rider Gary Stevens before pouncing on the leaders turning for home. He then surged to the lead and cruised home in the final yards to get the victory.
Candy Boy had been flying under the radar in the Maiden ranks last summer and fall but hindsight let’s us observe he’d been facing Stakes company in nearly all of his races. He placed 4th in his debut going 5.5 furlongs against the Stakes winner/Grade 1-placed sprinter Can the Man. Sadler stretched Candy Boy out to a mile for his next start where he again ran 4th behind eventual Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) champion New Year’s Day and subsequent Frontrunner Stakes (G1) winner Bond Holder. In start #3 Candy Boy ran into another buzzsaw, finishing second to the Bob Baffert-trained Tap It Rich in a one-mile Maiden Special at Santa Anita on October 12. There was no keeping Candy Boy out of the winner’s circle in his 4th start, though, and he rolled by 6 1/4-lengths going 8.5 furlongs at Hollywood Park in late November.
Candy Boy made his Stakes debut in his next outing, the CashCall Futurity (G1), where he ran a strong 2nd (at 26-1) to the unbeaten Eclipse Champion Shared Belief. Without the benefit of hindsight, we don’t know the exact quality of the runners Candy Boy defeated in his recent Lewis triumph, but he does have the look of a strong Classics contender who will get better the longer he runs.
Gary Stevens was duly impressed by the colt’s effort and by his vanquished rivals.
“He’s the No. 1 draft choice for me,” Stevens said after the race. “That was quite a performance he just put on against some pretty nice 3-year-old colts.”
Looking at Candy Boy’s female family, one wouldn’t neccesarily think ‘Kentucky Derby winner’. His dam, the In Excess mare She’s An Eleven, was an impressive middle distance Stakes winner against Cal-bred company but failed to hit the board in open company Stakes. Her dam, She’s a Sensation, earned some minor blacktype, also against Cal-breds, but is a sister to the star of the family – Leave Me Alone. That filly by Bold Badgett didn’t bother much with Cal-bred company. She was good enough to win a pair of imporant sprint Stakes, the Azalea Stakes (G3) and the Test Stakes (G1) at Saratoga during her 3yo season.
Like Shared Belief, Candy Boy is a son of the brilliant and undefeated Candy Ride, who defeated Medaglia d’Oro in the 10-furlong Pacific Classic (G1) in the last start of his career. They’re both now top flight stallions although Candy Ride’s offspring have tended to be best up to 9 furlongs. He’s the sire of such male runners as 2010 Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Sidney’s Candy and Misremembered, who did win the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) at 10 furlongs. For fellow pedigree geeks it’s interesting to note that Candy Boy is bred on the Fappiano/Caro sire-line cross that has produced over 20 Stakes winners, including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) victor Unbridled’s Song and Preakness Stakes (G1) hero Red Bullet.
Time will tell whether the steady rise of Candy Boy will continue through the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and beyond, but it would be no surprise if he carries his Hall of Fame jockey into the hallowed Derby winner’s cirlcle.
Matt O'Neil Consulting 