"It's unlikely that
he'll run at Del Mar again this meet," trainer John Sadler said this
morning of Sidney's Candy, his spectacular winner of Saturday's La Jolla
Handicap, the major prep for the Grade II, $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Sunday,
September 5.
"That race was pretty
fast, so I don't expect to bring him back again [this meet]," the trainer
said. "He came back from the race in great shape and he looks
wonderful," he continued as he watched the Candy Ride colt being jogged up
and down the horse path near his barn.
Sidney's Candy, in an all-out speed duel with
Macias through 6 furlongs, won by 5 1/2 lengths in the record time of 1:39.52
for the 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The previous record was 1:39.67 set by Mea
Domina in the 2006 Palomar Handicap.
The three finishers closest
to Sidney's Candy are moving on to the Derby, their trainers
said this morning. "Definitely, we're going on to the Derby," said Jim Cassidy of his
runner-up, Kid Edward. "He ran a big race. He closed a lot of
ground." Alexis Barba, whose Alphie's Bet finished third, said he would be
pointed to the Derby,
also, as will fourth-place finisher Summer Movie, according to his trainer, Art
Sherman.
While Sadler probably won't
be saddling Sidney's Candy for the Derby, he will have another
Candy Ride colt to send out in the 1 1/8-mile race. That would be Twirling
Candy, the impressive winner of the one-mile Oceanside Stakes on opening day,
Wednesday, July 21. Also, Sadler said he would nominate Twirling Candy to the
Grade I, $1-million Pacific Classic Presented by TVG to be run Saturday, August
28.
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