Candy Ride relocates to Lane's End

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Candy Ride, currently North America's fourth-ranked second-crop sire, has relocated from John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm in Lexington to Will Farish's Lane's End Farm in Versailles, Ky.

The stallion's majority owner, Jenny Craig, also has moved about 40 horses, including mares, foals, and yearlings along with Candy Ride.

Ted Aroney, a California-based adviser to Craig, said Craig opted to move Candy Ride partly because of a prior relationship with Lane's End but that the stallion's large book size also played a role. Aroney said Craig hopes to keep the 10-year-old Ride the Rails horse's book at "100 or a little more" at Lane's End.

According to Jockey Club statistics, Candy Ride covered 170 mares in 2005, his first year at stud; 146 in 2006; 140 in 2007; and 77 in 2008, the last season for which total figures are available.

"Jenny has her philosophy, and this is what she wanted to do," Aroney said. "She likes the clientele that does business with Lane's End and thought maybe it would be better for the horse, maybe he'd get better mares.

"He did a really good job, and there's nothing wrong with what he did," Aroney said of Sikura, who retains a 10 percent interest in Candy Ride and currently holds some breeding rights to the stallion. "He was a gentleman and he did a good job. Candy Ride bred a lot of mares. But she wants to slow down and not breed that many mares."

Sikura said he received a package from Craig's attorney on Friday notifying him that the syndicated stallion would relocate. He said he had no previous indication that the horse's shareholders, which also include Marty Wygod, were unhappy with Hill 'n' Dale's management.

"I'm a big boy, and I respect the fact that if someone has enough votes to do something, they can exercise that right, and that's what they did," Sikura said. "I know we did a great job with the horse and made him a huge success with horses like Misremembered and Evita Argentina and Chocolate Candy. All those horses were bred, foaled, and raised at the farm."

Candy Ride started his stud career at Hill 'n' Dale. He stood this year for a $12,500 fee, despite getting the above-named graded performers as well as Grade 2 winner Capt. Candyman Can and Grade 1-placed Wynning Ride in his first two crops. Sikura said he was reluctant to raise the fee in light of the national and Thoroughbred industry recession.