Candied bests scratched down field of elders in Lady’s Secret

When Candied won the $100,000 Lady’s Secret on Saturday at Monmouth Park, it marked a rare early season stakes win for a 3-year-old against older horses.

The accomplishment came with caveats. Three entrants were scratched and Candied faced only three rivals. The best of them, Honor D Lady, stumbled badly just after the start, seriously compromising her chances. In fact, Candied would’ve had to work to lose, and in the end, she jogged to the lead past the three-sixteenths pole and drew off by 4 1/2 lengths as jockey Joe Bravo posed for the Monmouth crowd the last 50 yards.

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The odds-on favorite, Candied won the Grade 1 Alcibiades last October and was third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She suffered a wide trip after breaking from the rail finishing a decent fifth in the Grade 1 Ashland at Keeneland, her 3-year-old debut, and her trainer, Todd Pletcher, more than anything, looked to the Lady’s Secret to find a bridge to more important 3-year-old filly races thigs summer.

The 1 1/16-mile Lady’s Secret turned into a glorified workout for Candied ($3.40). Breaking on top, Bravo eased Candied back to last down the backstretch before the filly began picking up her pace going into the far turn. Failing, as always, to change leads in the homestretch, Candied still routed her three foes. Show wagering was cancelled.

Candied is by Candy Ride out of Tony Tools, by Raging Fever, and races for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. She was timed in 1:45.46 over a fast track – and next time figures to be back in a more challenging race.

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